Culture Representation: Taking place in Andhra Pradesh, India, the action film “Game Changer” features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A district magistrate becomes a politician in his fight against corruption.
Culture Audience: “Game Changer” will appeal mainly to people who don’t mind watching mindless action movies that are too long.
Ram Charan and Kiara Advani in “Game Changer” (Photo courtesy of Zee Studios)
It’s ironic that the title of this movie is “Game Changer,” because everything about this bloated film uses the same formulas as the worst action movies about a hero fighting corruption: It’s loud, obnoxious, idiotic, and too long. The musical numbers in this 165-minute cinematic abomination are tacky and awkwardly placed. And the acting performances are utterly generic.
Directed by S. Shankar and written by Vivek Velmurugan, “Game Changer” takes place in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. That’s where district magistrate Ram Nandan (played by Ram Charan)—a former police officer who is based in the city of Visakhapatnam—acts like a one-man army against criminals. He uncovers a drug smuggling operation and other criminal activities.
“Game Changer” is overloaded with scenes of people shouting at each other and fighting each other. There’s a subplot about a rivalry between the unscrupulous sons of Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister Bobbili Sathyamoorthy (played by Srikanth), who is shallow cliché of a corrupt patriarch in power. Elder son Bobbili Munimanikyam (played by Jayaram) is the home minister of Andhra Pradesh. Younger son Bobbili Mopidevi (played by S. J. Suryah) is the minister of Andhra Pradesh.
At one point, Ram decides to run for political office at the urging of people in the community. It leads to a long-winded and annoying part of the movie where over-the-top things happen, such as a one of Ram’s enemies using a bulldozer to destroy an election building. All the violence in the movie looks unrealistic, including the fake-looking visual effects.
Ram is a bachelor whose family has been pressuring him to get married. Strangely, Charan also plays the role of Ram’s father Appanna, who is the founder of the Abhyudayam Party. Appana’s wife/Ram’s mother Parvathy (played by Anjali) has a one-note role in the movie: nagging Ram to find a wife.
Ram’s love interest is Deepika (played by Kiara Advani), a medical doctor who is seen dancing more than doing actual work as a doctor. Charan and Advani do not have believable romantic chemistry as Ram and Deepika, so the love affair in “Game Changer” just falls flat. Ram also has a close friend named “Side” Satyam (played by Sunil), who is a fairly forgettable character.
The sound mixing in “Game Changer” is horrendous, with too many scenes that blare music and sound effects at extremely irritating levels. It’s an overly long movie that has choppy film editing in scenes that abruptly end and then incoherently go to the next scene. No amount of editing could erase all the garbage filmmaking that’s in “Game Changer,” which is a complete waste of time for anyone who watches this rotten spectacle.
Zee Studios released “Game Changer” in U.S. cinemas and in India on January 10, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in the Indian village of Suravaram, the dramatic film “Bachchala Malli” features an all-Indian group of people representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A brutish man, who has longtime anger issues because his father abandonded him, abuses alcohol and gets into fights to cope with his emotional pain while he tries to have a romance with a kind and patient woman.
Culture Audience: “Bachchala Malli” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching forgettable dramas that have mindless violence.
Allari Naresh and Amritha Aiyer in “Bachchala Malli” (Photo courtesy of Parthyangira Cinemas)
“Bachchala Malli” is a lackluster drama where the movie’s title character gets into fights and has self-pity about his turbulent personal life and father’s neglect. This bloated 140-minute movie is a chore to watch because it’s so uninteresting and hollow. After a while, “Bachchala Malli” goes on a repeat loop of misery where the movie’s characters don’t seem to learn much when it comes to personal growth. It’s all just so tedious to watch.
Written and directed by Subbu Mangadevvi, “Bachchala Malli” takes place from 1985 to 2005, in the Indian village of Suravaram. it’s where Bachchala Malli (played by Allari Naresh) has lived his entire life. For most of the movie, Bachchala is a brute who frequently gets drunk, smokes too much, and is ready to get into bloody brawls with anyone, at any time.
Why is Bachchala so angry? A flashback to 1985 shows that when he was in 10th grade (about 15 or 16 years old), Bachchala was actually a good kid who was an academic achiever. Bachchala’s father (played by Kota Jayaram) and Bachala’s mother Rajayam (played Rohini) were proud of Bachchala—especially Bachchala’s father.
However, Bachchala’s life is shattered when he finds out that his father has a mistress named Padma (played by Hari Teja), and she has a son named Bachchala Ramana, who was a toddler in 1985. Padma shows up at Bachchala’s family home one day to demand child support. Bachchala’s paternal grandfather tells Bachchala’s father that he has to choose to live with Rajayam or Padma. Bachchala’s father chooses his mistress Padma and becomes an absentee father to Bachchala.
Most of “Bachchala Malli” takes place in the 1990s, when Bachchala is in his 20s. He meets and falls in love with a woman named Kaveri (played by Amritha Aiyer), who tries to get Bachchala to give up his decadent ways. Kaveri is also the daughter of a police officer (played by Rao Ramesh), who predictably doesn’t trust Bachchala because of Bachchala’s reputation for being a drunken rogue.
“Bachchala Malli” is a tiresome and dull melodrama, with Bachchala and Kaveri having an on-again/off-again romance that is threatened when she gets engaged to another man. There’s also a subplot about Bachchala and his younger half-brother Bachchala Ramana (played by Ankith Koyya) having a vicious feud. Expect to see the usual unrealistic fight scenes, with tacky shots in slow motion. The romance in the movie is utterly boring.
The acting performances in “Bachchala Malli” are mostly mediocre, although Naresh seems to make an effort to portray Bachchala as more complicated than Bachchala really is. The musical numbers, which are awkwardly placed in the movie, have silly lyrics and generic dancing. “Bachhala” wants desperately for audiences to feel empathy for Bachchala, but this entire movie is so soullness, the only feeling that “Bachchala Malli” viewers might have is impatience for this entire messy movie to be over as soon as possible.
Parthyangira Cinemas released “Bachhala Malli” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on December 20, 2024.
Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha in “All We Imagine as Light” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
“All We Imagine as Light”
Directed by Payal Kapadia
Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam and Bhojpuri with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in India, the dramatic film “All We Imagine as Light” features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Three female friends, who are hospital co-workers, navigate various challenges in their lives.
Culture Audience: “All We Imagine as Light” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in drama about the lives of everyday people.
Chhaya Kadam and Kani Kusruti in “All We Imagine as Lght” (Photo courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
“All We Imagine as Light” offers a mood journey more than an obvious plot. It’s an introspective drama about relationships and hope from female viewpoints. However, the movie’s nearly two-hour running time is excessive for what this movie actually conveys. At least 30 minutes of the movie is unneccessary and could’ve been edited out without diminishing the overall plot. The movie’s slow pacing might also cause some viewers to lose interest in the story.
Written and directed by Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where the movie won the Grand Prix, the equivalent of second place in the festival’s main competition. “All We Imagine as Light” subsequently screened at numerous other film festivals in 2024, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. It’s a movie about people who live unassuming lives and whose dreams are muted by society’s oppressions and prejudices.
“All We Imagine as Light” focuses on three female friends, who are all co-workers at the same hospital in Mumbai, India. Prabha (played by Kani Kusruti) and Anu (played by Divya Prabha) are nurses and roommates with opposite personalities and lifestyles. Prabha is introverted and traditional. Anu is extroverted and free-spirited. Their friend Parvaty (played by Chhaya Kadam) works as a cook at the hospital.
Prabha is married, but her husband is away because he works at a factory in Germany, but he hasn’t kept in contact with her, so Prabha assumes that he has abandoned her. A physician at the hospital named Dr. Manoj (played by Azees Nedumangad) shows a romantic interest in Prabha, but she rejects his advances because she wants to remain loyal to her husband. Prabha feels lonely but she tries to suppress her feelings by focusing on her work and helping her friends.
Anu’s parents are pressuring her to find a husband through an arranged marriage. Anu is secretly dating a man named Shiaz (played by Hridhu Haroon), who would not be approved of by her parents because Shiaz is Muslim, and Anu is Hindu. Anu doesn’t feel like she’s ready for marriage, but she know she wants to marry for love, not because it’s an arranged marriage. Shiaz is a passionate suitor who wants Anu to live with him.
Parvaty, who has a personality filled with determination, is having problems with her living situation because the owner of the building where she lives wants to demolish the building to make way for a high-rise complex. Her electricity has been cut off. And she’s told by an attorney that she doesn’t have any proof that she lived there, so it’s very likely she will be evicted.
All three of the women’s problems are somehow intertwined with each other. A catalyst for something happening is when Prabha gets a rice cooker delivered to her as a gift by an anonymous sender. Prabha also helps Parvaty when Parvaty has to make a decision about her housing problem.
“All We Imagine as Light” patiently shows how Prabha, Anu and Parvaty deal with their personal issues while going about their everyday lives. Therefore, the movie has many scenes of the women at work or doing things that are quite mundane, such as traveling by bus. The “forbidden” romance of Anu and Shiaz brings some sizzle to a plot that sometimes stalls without much progress.
Interspersed with the lives of these three women are occasional scenes where the camera pans across the streets of Mumbai, as viewers hear snippets of conversations from people on the streets. “All We Imagine as Light” capably shows how many people come to Mumbai from small villages because there are more work opportunities in Mumbai. And they find that life in the big city can be overwhelming and lonely at the same time.
All of the cast members portray their characters with enough authenticity that it’s easy to perceive “All We Imagine as Light” as being inspired by any number of real people. The cinematography by Ranabir Das has elements of artistic realism that can keep viewers engaged, even when not much is happening in the story. The title of the movie is explained in the film’s last 15 minutes, which show the power of people helping each other during tough times.
Sideshow/Janus Films released “All We Imagine as Light” in select U.S. cinemas on November 15, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Kolkata, India, the horror comedy film “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (a direct sequel to “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2”) features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A fake psychic has encounters with ghosts who have a complicated family history.
Culture Audience: “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2,” the movie’s headliners and horror comedies that are intentionally silly.
Madhuri Dixit in “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (Photo courtesy of AA Films)
“Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” is an unnecessarily convoluted sequel that makes this horror comedy neither scary nor amusing. It’s a bloated mess with silly shenanigans and an awkwardly contrived plot twist. The jokes pander to the lowest common denominator, while the story is too confusing for anyone who is not familiar with the “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” franchise.
Directed by Anees Bazmee and written by Aakash Kaushik, “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (which means “Labyrinth 3” in Hindi) is a direct sequel to “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2,” which was also directed by Bazmee and written by Kaushik. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” is a quasi-sequel/reboot to 2007’s “Bhool Bhulaiyaa.” “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” isn’t a perfect movie, but at least it has a more coherent plot than “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.”
In “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” (which takes place in Kolkata, India), Ruhaan Randhawa (played by Kartik Aaryan) is still working as a fake psychic named Rooh Baba. He claims to have the ability to communicate with the dead and the ability to exorcise demons from people. Ruhaan has a sidekick named Tillu (played by Arun Kushwah), who is a little person and who is treated in the movie like some kind of circus curiosity instead a complete person with a real personality.
One day, Ruhaan gets hired to exorcise a demon from an attractive woman named Meera (played by Triptii Dimri), whose unnamed uncle (played by Rajesh Sharma) has hired Ruhaan for this exorcism. It’s all a setup. Meera really isn’t possessed by a demon. She and her uncle only wanted to get a video recording of this fake exorcism to expose Ruhaan as a fraud.
Meera’s uncle uses this video to blackmail Ruhaan into going to the family’s Rakht Ghat palace. Why? It turns out that Ruhaan looks exactly like Debendranath Chatterjee (also played by Aaryan), a prince of this royal family who died about 200 years earlier. Debendranath was the younger half-brother of feuding princess sisters Anjulika Chatterjee (played by Vidya Balan) and Manjulika Chatterjee (played by Madhuri Dixit), who both had a rivalry over who would have more power. Anjulika was the eldest of these three siblings.
Debendranath’s mother was a servant, not the king’s wife, so there was jealousy from Anjulika and Manjulika when the king decided to make Debendranath the heir to the throne. People who know about “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” know that the ghosts of Anjulika and Manjulika were the main ghosts in the story. The addition of a previously unmentioned younger half-brother named Debendranath in “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” just seems too gimmicky and fake. It’s just an excuse to have a sequel and have some of the cast members portray dual roles.
Meera’s family believes that Anjulika and Manjulika are haunting the family palace, so the frightened family has moved into an adjacent barn on the property. With no access to the palace, the family members have to live like peasants and even have to do things like ration their toothpaste, as shown in a rather unfunny scene. Meera and her family move back into the palace because they believe that Ruhaan is a reincarnation of Debendranath and could possibly help them get rid of the ghosts of Anjulika and Manjulika.
Three characters from “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” make their return in “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3”: a local priest named Chota Pandit (played by Rajpal Yadav); Chota’s older brother Bande Pandit (played by Sanjay Mishra); and Panditayeen Pandit (played by Ashwini Kalsekar), who is Bade’s wife. All three of them are opportunists and moved into the palace when it was vacated. They refuse to leave after Meera’s family moves back into the palace.
Meanwhile, the family plans to sell the palace. A renovator named Mallika (also played by Balan) has been hired to make home improvements before the palace is sold. More chaos ensues when a prospective buyer named Mandira (also played by Dixit) arrives and there are signs that the palace continues to be haunted. The plot twist is foreshadowed when Ruhaan appears to be possessed by the spirit of Debendranath.
“Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” is the type of sequel that is made only slightly less muddled if viewers are familiar with what happened in “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.” The song-and-dance scenes in “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” are elaborate with good cinematography. But ultimately, these musical scenes are empty and serve no purpose but to extend the movie’s overly long run time of 158 minutes.
The acting performances are adequate but are overshadowed by most of the characters being shrill and/or annoying. The inevitable romance between Ruhaan and Meera has all the superficiality of the cover of a romance novel. Anyone who sees “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” will not find that much to care about these characters and will not see any reason why this movie needed to exist except to be a cynical cash grab.
AA Films released “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” in U.S. cinemas and in India on November 1, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in India and in Sri Lanka, the action film “Singham Again” (a sequel to 2011’s “Singham” and 2014’s “Singham Returns”) features an all-South Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A deputy commissioner police officer battles drug dealers who kidnap and assault his wife.
Culture Audience: “Singham Again” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headlines and utterly predictable action movies with mediocre acting.
Arjun Kapoor in “Singham Again” (Photo courtesy of Reliance Entertainment)
Even with the benefit of having a star-studded cast, the action film sequel “Singham Again” is quite lackluster and dull in its storytelling. It’s yet another trite, uneven and predictable story about violent fights between criminals and law enforcement. “Singham Again” is a sequel to 2011’s “Singham” and 2014’s “Singham Returns,” which were all directed by Rohit Shetty.
“Singham Again” was co-written by Shetty, Yunus Sajawal, Abhijeet Khuman, Kshitij Patwardhan, Sandeep Saket and Anusha Nandakumar. It’s usually not a good sign when a movie has at least five screenwriters because the movie willl most likely have “too many cooks in the kitchen” syndrome for the screenplay. The end results for “Singham Again” seem to prove this theory because “Singham Again” is a muddled mess of disjointed ideas and tonally off-kilter scenes that want to cram too much into the movie but almost none of it adds up to good filmmaking
The title chaacter of the “Singham” films is Bajirao Singham (played by Ajay Devgn), a deputy commissioner police (DCP) officer from Shivgarh, India. Even though these movies are not science fiction or superhero movies, the characters in these movies have unrealistically superhuman fight skills in the many ridiculous action scenes. Bajirao is an upstanding law enforcement officer who is nothing but a stereotype with no surprises.
In “Singham Again” (which takes place in India and in Sri Lanka), Bajirao is now married to Avni Kamat (played by Kareena Kapoor Khan), who was his love interest in “Singham Returns.” Bajirao and Avni (who works for the Cultural Ministry) have a son named Shaurya (played by Viren Vazirani), who’s about 16 or 17 years old. Bajirao has been transferred from Mumbai to Srinagar for three years.
There are some tensions between Bajirao and Shaurya because Shaurya wants to establish his independence, but Shaurya thinks Bajirao is overbearing. Bajirao has a reputation for being a tough cop, and his son Shaurya is embarrassed by Bajirao’s domineering tendencies. Meanwhile, Bajirao is concerned about Shaurya being rebellious and thinks Shaurya needs to be more disciplined.
Near the begining of the movie, Shaurya complains to Bajirao about how Bajirao embarrassed Shaurya because Bajirao showed up uninvited to a recent party hosted by one of Shaurya’s friends. At this party, Bajirao lectured the teenage attendees, which ruined the party atmosphere. Bajirao eventually gives an apology to Shaurya, but Bajirao will soon have more to worry about than whether or not Shaurya is annoyed with him.
Bajirao is the leader of the arrest of a major drug dealer named Omar Hafeez (played by Jackie Shroff), who is nicknamed the Chef of Lashkar. Omar has left Pakistan to set up an illegal drug import/export business from Sri Lanka to India. During the sting operation that led to Omar’s arrest, his drug-dealing sons Riyaaz and Raza were killed. And you know what that means: Omar wants revenge.
Omar is also involved in terrorism funded by the money he makes from drug dealing. Bajirao finds out that Omar is planning a terrorist attack on India. But with Omar arrested, there are other people who are willing to carry out Omar’s plan. Meanwhile, Home Minister Raj Jaishankar commissions a team called Shiva Squad, led by Bajirao, to stop Omar’s planned terrorist attack. Also on the Shiva Squad are Devika Singh (played by Shweta Tiwari) and Daya Shetty (played by Dayanand Shetty), who are loyal sidekicks.
Two years later, Bajirao leads a confiscation of drugs from another major drug dealer named Danger Lanka (played by Arjun Kapoor), a one-dimensional villain who is one cliché after another. Three of Danger Lanka’s men are arrested. Bajirao recruits DCP Shakti Shetty (played by Deepika Padukone) to take these arrestees to Mumbai. However, Danger Lanka arrives to help his men escape, and he kills some of the police officers on duty. Shakti feels extremely guilty about the deaths of these colleagues. Bajirao comforts her and assures her that it’s not her fault.
Meanwhile, Avni is presenting a theater production of “Ramlila,” to portray the journey of Lord Ram and Sita. “Singham Again” clumsily draws parallels between certain characters in this play and the characters in the movie’s story. The staging of this play is awkwardly placed in the movie.
Also getting involved in the mind-numbing battles are assistant commissioner police (ACP) officer Sangram “Simmba” Bhalerao (played by Ranveer Singh) and anti-terrorism squad official Veer Sooryavanshi (played by Akshay Kumar), who have their own agendas and rivalries with Bajirao. The spinoff films “Simmba” (2018) and “Sooryavanshi” (2021) put the focus on each of these two namesake characters. Simmba, who is Avni’s brother-in-law, is corrupt and slightly unhinged. Veer is the “cool” law enforcement officer. ACP Satya Bali (played by Tiger Shroff) is an eager character who admires Bajirao and wants to prove his worth to Bajirao
It should come as no surprise in an unimaginative movie like “Singham Again” that a loved one of the chief hero is put in danger, which motivates him to rescue the loved ones and get revenge on the criminals responsible for harming the loved one. In this substandard movie, the loved one in peril is Avni, who is kidnapped and seriously injured by Danger Lanka. You know the rest: Car chases, explosions, and fights with guns, fists and bladed weapons. All of the action scenes look very fake and have no suspense. The movie’s bombastic and loud music score just adds to the annoyance.
“Singham Again” has principal cast members who are capable of being charismatic in other movies if they have the right screenplay and direction. In “Singham Again,” the main characters have such hollow personalities, they don’t elicit much emotional connection from viewers. The cast members in these roles don’t seem to care much either, based on their formulaic performances. Although the cinematography of “Singham Again” is eye-catching, these visuals don’t mean much when the rest of the movie is so soulless and vapid.
Reliance Entertainment released “Singham Again” in U.S. cinemas and in India on November 1, 2024.
Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri in “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” (Photo courtesy of AA Films)
“Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video”
Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa
Hindi with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in India, in 1997, the comedy film “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with one white person) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Two newlywed spouses make a sex video on their honeymoon and frantically look for it after the video goes missing.
Culture Audience: “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching long and silly romantic comedies.
Vijay Raaz in “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” (Photo courtesy of AA Films)
“Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” drags on entirely too long (146 minutes) for a movie that could’ve been half of its run time. This lightweight film about a newlywed couple losing a sex video they made together has capable acting but a terrible screenplay.
Directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” was co-written by Shaandilyaa, Yusuf Ali Khan, Ishrat Khan and Rajan Agarwal. The movie’s title means “The Video of Vicky and Vidya” in Hindi. The movie’s concept is so simple and the story is so repetitive, the long run time of the movie is like watching a vehicle circling around and really not going anywhere.
“Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” (which takes place in 1997 in India) begins by showing a mehendi artist named Vicky (played by Rajkummar Rao) working at the wedding of a doctor named Vidya (played by Triptii Dimri), who was his childhood sweetheart. This chance encounter re-ignites a spark between them. Vidya (who doesn’t want to marry her intended groom in an arranged marriage) convinces her family that she should marry Vicky instead.
Vicky (who is a “regular guy”) and Vidya (who is somewhat high-maintenance) get married and travel to their honeymoon in Goa. One night, they make a sex video that’s recorded on a CD-ROM. (Remember, this story takes place in 1997.) The CD then goes missing. Panic predictably ensues.
A police officer named Laadle (played by Vijay Raaz) is called to investigate. Laadle is a buffoon who has a crush on Vicky’s commitment-phobic sister Chanda (played by Mallika Sherawat) and pursues her like a lovesick suitor. Coincidentally, Vidya’s family also has a maid named Chanda (played by Archana Patel), so the movie has some not-very-funny moments about identity mixups because these two women have the same first name.
Most of the movie is built around mindless and time-wasting hijinks, with a lot of people running around and shouting. Some of the movie’s annoying characters include a burglar named Badshah (played by Mast Ali); a healing guru named Bulbul Didi (played by Ashwini Kalsekar); and Bulbul’s bumbling henchmen Sunil (played by Mubeen Saudagar) and Shetty (played by Jaswant Singh Rathore). The movie does little to show much of the personalities for the newlywed couple’s relatives, such as Vicky’s unnamed grandfather (played by Tiku Talsania), Vicky’s younger brother Gopal (played by Akshobhya Gauniyal), Vidya’s unnamed mother (played by Archana Puran Singh) and Vidya’s unnamed father (played by Rakesh Bedi).
The only real plot development is when Vicky gets wrongfully arrested for attempted murder. There’s also a clumsily handed subplot about blackmail. And then there are the time-filler musical scenes that aren’t very memorable. After all the buildup about what happened to the CD, the cliffhanger ending (which obviously hints at a sequel) is the movie’s biggest letdown.
AA Films released “Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video” in U.S. cinemas and in India on October 11, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Mussoorie, the romantic comedy/drama “Bad Newz” (a quasi-sequel to 2019’s “Good Newwz”) features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with a few white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: An ambitious chef has sexual intercourse with two men (her ex-husband and her boss) on separate occasions on the same night, she gets pregnant with twins, and all three adults find out that the twins were conceived in a rare situation where the twins have two different biological fathers.
Culture Audience: “Bad Newz” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching shrill and silly romantic dramedies that are more than two hours long.
Vicky Kaushal and Ammy Virk in “Bad Newz” (Photo courtesy of AA Films)
The comedy/drama “Bad Newz” squanders the movie’s unusual concept of a woman pregnant with twins from two different fathers and how she copes with the love triangle that ensues. This moronic film just lazily rehashes tired stereotypes of superficial romantic comedies. And with a total running time of 140 minutes, “Bad Newz” quickly wears out its welcome, like an obnoxious suitor who won’t go away.
Directed by Anand Tiwari, “Bad Newz” was written by Ishita Moitra and Tarun Dudeja. This bloated movie is completely predictable and does absolutely nothing clever with the rare situation of twins having two separate biological fathers and one biological mother through natural means—not through in vitro fertilization or other artificial fertility methods. This pregnancy condition is called heteropaternal superfecundation. The words “heteropaternal superfecundation” are said a few times in the movie—and that’s the closest that “Bad Newz” gets to showing any intelligence.
“Bad Newz” is a quasi-sequel to the 2019 hit movie “Good Newwz,” a comedy/drama about two married couples who get pregnant through vitro fertilization and find out that each husband’s sperm was accidentally used to fertilize the wrong wife’s egg. “Bad Newz” begins in Mumbai, India (where the movie was filmed on location), by showing a chef named Saloni Bagga (payed by Triptii Dimri) meeting with actress Ananya Panday (playing a version of herself) for lunch at a restaurant. Paparazzi and fans have followed Ananya to this restaurant. Saloni and Ananya are meeting because Ananya is going to portay Saloni in a movie.
What is so unusual about Saloni’s life that would be turned into a movie where Saloni will be portrayed by a famous actress? “Bad Newz” then goes into flashback mode for most of the movie to show that Saloni is the one who’s had a heteropaternal superfecundation pregnancy. The long-winded plot (which is padded with generic song-and-dance musical scenes) has no surprises in depicting the “love triangle” that caused this unusual situation.
Saloni is about 26 or 27 years old. At the beginning of this flashback, she is living in Mumbai, where she is the head chef at a restaurant called Panama Cafe. Her dream is to be the head chef of a retaurant that gets the highest-rated Meraki Star, which is this fictional movie’s version of the Michelin star. Eventually, Saloni also wants to own her own restaurant.
Saloni goes to a wedding reception and meets vain and arrogant Akhil Chadha (played by Vicky Kaushal), who likes to describe himself as the Greatest of All Time (his self-appointed nickname) when it comes to being a lover. Akhil (who’s about four years older than Saloni) immediately makes it known to Saloni that he’s attracted to her and he wants to date her. She resists his advances because she says she wants to stay focused on her career.
However, Akhil is persistent, and Saloni agrees to date him. Saloni and Akhil have a whirlwind courtship and then get married. Why would Saloni agree to marry this jerk? She sees a vulnerable and caring side to Akhil when he tells her that he checks up on his mother often, out of guilt, because he wasn’t with his mother when his father died.
There are problems in the marriage from the start. Akhil (whose profession is never mentioned in the movie) apparently has nothing better to do than show up at the restaurant where Saloni works as a head chef to interrupt her work and harass people. When he’s at the restaurant, he expects Saloni to pay full attention to him while she’s supposed to be working.
Akhil also demands that customers excessively praise Saloni. He makes disruptions by shouting to anyone who listens that Saloni is an amazing chef. He thinks he’s being a supportive husband, but he’s not. Saloni asks Akhil to stop showing up at her job and acting in this boorish way, but Akhil won’t listen.
Akhil’s rude and overbearing attitude erupts into violence one day when he physically assaults a restaurant customer who complains about Saloni’s cooking. The Panama Cafe manager (played by Navin Kaushik) orders Akhil out of the restaurant, while the assaulted customer leaves in an angry huff. Saloni is understandably humiliated and ashamed by Akhil’s abusiveness.
When Akhil and Saloni go home after this assault incident, they have a big argument, which ends with Akhil ordering Saloni to move out of their home. She willingly goes and then files for divorce not long afterward. Akhil and Saloni were married for almost six months when they had this nasty breakup.
Saloni’s parents disapprove of Saloni getting divorced and try to get her to change her mind and reconcile with Akhil, who also wants the reconciliation. However, Saloni stands firm in her decision. Akhil’s widowed mother Vishni Chadha (played by Sheeba Chadha) also wants to see the couple get back together. Saloni’s aunt Ma Corona (played by Neha Dhupia) often acts as a peacemaker and advisor for Saloni’s love life problems.
Back at the Panama Cafe, the restaurant is being visited by Meraki Star judges. Saloni is expected to be in top form. Unfortunately, Saloni is stressed-out and distracted by her divorce problems, so she flops during the judging session, and the restaurant doesn’t win the Meraki Star. Because of her blunders, Saloni is fired from Panama Cafe.
Akhil comforts Saloni after she is fired. But it’s still not enough for Saloni to change her mind about the divorce. Saloni tells Akhil that they rushed into the marriage, which is why she thinks the marriage was doomed to fail. She also tells him, “Our dreams will always clash.” Akhil changes his mind about contesting the divorce and agrees to the divorce.
After the divorce, Saloni decides to start fresh by moving to Mussoorie, a small town about 1,742 kilometers or 1,082 miles away from Mumbai. Even after this move, Saloni can be heard saying in a voiceover that maybe her decision to divorce Akhil was too hasty. Saloni gets a job as the head chef of a restaurant owned by an available bachelor named Gurbir Singh Pannu (played by Ammi Virk), who has a personality that is the opposite of Akhil’s personality. Of course he does, because this is a cliché-ridden movie about a love triangle.
Saloni sees right away that Gurbir (who’s slightly older than Akhil) is kind, polite and humble to everyone. At the restaurant, Gurbir is able to diplomatically smooth over conflicts, whereas Akhil is the type of person who is more likely to cause conflicts. Gurbir, whose parents died when he was a child, is attracted to Saloni, but he doesn’t want to make the first move.
Gurbir is enough of a gentleman to be aware that as a boss, he should not be trying to date an employee unless he is absolutely sure that the employee wants this type of relationship. Saloni thinks Gurbir is a nice guy who’s emotionally mature. She is also lonely because she doesn’t have any friends in Mussoorie. In the meantime, Gurbir and Saloni hang out together as platonic colleagues.
One fateful night, Gurbir and Saloni are on one of these platonic dates during a trip where they’re both staying at the same hotel. Saloni gets drunk and impulsively has sex with Gurbir in his hotel room. When she goes back to her hotel room, she’s shocked to see Akhil waiting for her because he wanted to surprise her. (Can you say “stalker”?)
Akhil has brought a cake with him because that day happens to be the ex-couple’s wedding anniversary. Saloni is drunk and lonely, so she has sex with Akhil on the same night, within less than an hour after having sex with Gurbir. And because “Bad Newz” already reveals in the beginning that Saloni has a heteropaternal superfecundation pregnancy, you can easily guess what happens during the rest of this movie.
“Bad Newz” tediously drags with unimaginative scenes of the rivalry that develops between Akhil and Gurbir when they find out that they are both the biological fathers to the twins that Saloni is carrying. Expect to see Akhil and Gurbir try to outdo each other to prove to Saloni who will be the better father. All of it is very outdated comedy, with jokes that fall very flat.
Saloni has a hard time deciding which man she’ll choose to be her co-parent, or if she will choose to raise the twins on her own. Has she really fallen out of love with “bad boy” Akhil? Might she fall in love with “good guy” Gurbir? And what about the fact that Akhil and Gurbir stubbornly accuse each other of not being a suitable parent to these twins? Will anyone care by the end of this overly long mushfest?
Kaushal, Dimri and Virk don’t do much to make these characters endearing to audiences. Akhil is an egotistical creep who thinks his physical appearance entitles him to get any woman he wants. And if Akhil goes through any personality changes in the movie, it just looks phony. Dimri’s portrayal of Saloni makes her look flaky and a little bit manipulative. Virk’s depiction of Gurbir gives this character a decent personality, but it’s too bland and without the charisma needed to convince viewers that Gurbir can charm Saloni into the passionate love affair that she wants.
The movie’s depictions of Saloni’s visits to her obstetrician Doctor Baweja (played by Faisal Rashid) are also off-putting. Dr. Baweja treats Saloni more like a scientific experiment than a human being. He doesn’t care what the stress of this love triangle might be doing to pregnant and vulnerable Saloni. (Predictably, Akhil and Gurbir show up during these doctor visits and argue in front of the doctor.) Dr. Baweja just seems to want to have bragging rights that he’s a rare doctor who treated a patient with a heteropaternal superfecundation pregnancy.
“Bad Newz” is also one of those movies that has an incessantly annoying music score and soundtrack that are punctuated with silly comedy sound effects. The movie’s uneven tone also shifts to soap opera territory with over-styled scenes where people have wind flowing through their hair while they stare off wistfully into the distance, as if they’re at a photo shoot for a romance novel. “Bad Newz” isn’t the worst movie you could ever see, but “Bad Newz” asks viewers for too much time for a story that is as flimsy and boring as it is.
AA Films released “Bad Newz” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on July 19, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of India, the action film “Indian 2” (a sequel to 1996’s “Indian”) features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Four young adult YouTubers coax an outlaw vigilante to come out of hiding after he disappeared for 28 years, and the vigilante and his YouTube supporters go on the hunt to get justice for corruption.
Culture Audience: “Indian 2” will appeal primarily to people are fans of the first “Indian” movie and mindless vigilante stories.
Siddharth in “Indian 2” (Photo courtesy of Red Giant Movies)
“Indian 2” is nothing but a bloated mess. This idiotic and unnecessary sequel has tiresome clichés about a vigilante and his minions, who want corrupt people to be punished. The real punishment is watching this entire three-hour cinematic abomination. “Indian 2” (which is also titled “India 2: Zero Tolerance”) is filled with stupid-looking action sequences, hollow characters with no development, and time-wasting, reptetive scenes that didn’t need to be in the movie at all.
Written and directed by S. Shankar, “Indian 2” is a sequel to the 1996 action film “Indian,” which was directed and co-written by Shankar. Kamal Haasan reprises his role as vigilante Veerasekharan Senapathy, who is a former Indian National Army agent and who has the nickname Indian. The plot of “Indian 2” is so flimsy, it didn’t need to be a three-hour movie. This overlong running time makes the terrible movie even more irritating.
“Indian 2” (which takes place in various part of India) begins by showing four YouTuber friends in their 20s: Chitra Aravindhan (played by Siddharth), Aarthi Thangavel (played by Priya Bhavani Shankar), Thembash (played by Jagan) and Harish (played by Rishikanth). The four pals have a YouTube channel called Barking Dogs, which does political satires that poke fun at officials and leaders who are caught doing unethical things. These YouTubers use a lot of animation for their YouTube content.
Chitra, the leader of the Barking Dogs team, has a strong sense of morality and likes to help protect or defend underdogs. The other members of the Barking Dogs team have similar values. These values will be tested when they start investigating corruption that is very close to home.
One day, the community experiences a shocking and tragic event. A young woman named Sunitha flings herself off of a balcony and dies instantly. Chitra is one of the people on the street who witnessed this suicide.
Sunitha’s grieving brother tells the gathered crowd that Sunitha killed herself because corrupt officials demanded that she pay them bribes. When Sunitha refused, the officials told people that her college degree was fake. Sunitha couldn’t bear the shame, so she committed suicide.
Aside from all the illogical problems of this storyline (such as: colleges keep verifiable records of who graduated), the movie then stages an unrealistic impromptu protest at the suicide scene to have these corrupt officials arrested. Chitra is one of the most vocal people leading this protest, which also includes Arthi, Thembash and Harish.
The four friends get arrested and are bailed out by Chitra’s affluent girlfriend Disha (played by Rakul Preet Singh), who supports their cause but cautions them that they alone can’t change the world. Chitra, Arthi, Thembash and Harish get together and begin to wonder whatever happened to Indian, who made news for the events that happened in the “Indian” movie, but Indian has been missing since 1996. The four friends think that they should enlist the help of Indian, but they need to find him first.
Chitra comes up with the idea to start a social media campaign using the hashtag #ComeBackIndian. And sure enough, Indian finds out about the campaign, comes out of hiding. In an effort to look “modern,” Indian makes a social media video that he says is specifically aimed people under the age of 40. In this video, Indian makes a rallying statement for people to become social justice warriors against corruption by turning in corrupt people to the authorities.
The Barking Dogs friends take this advice to heart and start investigating people in their own family. Chitra’s father Varadharajan (played by Samuthirakani) is a police officer. Harish visits his uncle’s motel and discovers they serve stale food to customers. Thembash finds out that his brother-in-law, Nanjunda Moorthy, accepts bribes from customers, as does Aarthi’s mother, Kanagalatha.
Meanwhile, Indian doles out his own type of justice, which is often violent. Indian is a master of disguises and has hypnosis skills. And apparently, based on the movie’s very fake-looking action scenes, Indian also has superhuman-level strength and agility. One of the things that Indian likes to do in his hypnosis tricks is make people under hypnosis think that they are horses, and he tells them to run for the rest of their lives.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been on the hunt for Indian for the past 28 years because of what happened in the first “Indian” movie. Now that Indian as resurfaced, two CBI agents named Pramod Krishnaswamy (played by Bobby Simha) and Elango (played by Vivek) have been assigned to find and capture Indian. It should come as no surprise that Pramod and Elango repeatedly bungle the task, as Indian remains elusive. Why else would this bloated movie be three hours long?
One of the many problems with this disjointed movie is that the four Barking Dogs friends mostly work separately from Indian. There are large chunks of the movie that seem to completely forget all about the Barking Dogs friends. The separate storylines in “Indian 2” clumsily fail to blend cohesively when Indian and the Barking Dogs friends share the same scenes.
Most of the corruption in the movie’s ill-conceived plot has to do with bribery. The movie quickly becomes bogged down in unimaginative, repetitive scenarios of Indian donning disguises and doing his hypnosis tricks. There’s at least one other person who commits suicide out of “shame” related to corruption accusations. “Indian 2” also has a few bombastic song-and-dance musical scenes that look out-of-place and have forgettable songs.
The action sequences in “Indian 2” relentlessly insult viewers’ intelligence. Viewers are expected to believe that when Indian is cornered by about 20 muscular men in a fight, the men will stand around and take turns to get a chance to fight Indian. In reality, anyone who’s outnumbered this way would be quickly ganged up on and defeated, unless their opponent has a weapon that the others don’t.
One of the phoniest-looking action sequences is toward the end of the movie, when someone makes an escape by riding a unicycle. Viewers are expected to believe that this unicucle can outpace all the cars chasing after this unicyle. The person making the escape also does flips ona tunnel wall during this vehicle chase.
None of the acting performances in “Indian 2” is special. Some of it is downright awful. This movie clearly had a sizeable budget that was spent on production design (often gaudy) and visual effects (often fake-looking), but the movie’s production budget didn’t buy good film editing. There’s so much quick-cutting film editing that’s meant to make “Indian 2” look fast-paced, but it just looks like amateurish editing that can’t fix this abysmal screenplay.
Even with this choppy editing, “Indian 2” drags and gets boring because there’s so little substance to the movie’s story, which has a horrendous ending. A mid-credits montage gives a montage preview of what to expect in 2025’s “Indian 3,” and it looks just as awful as “Indian 2.” You’ve been warned.
Red Giant Movies released “Indian 2” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on July 12, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Kuttanad, India, the dramatic film “Ullozhukku” features an all-Indian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A young widow from a middle-class background has conflicts with her wealthy mother-in-law, as preparations are made for the funeral of the widow’s recently deceased husband.
Culture Audience: “Ullozhukku” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and are interested in watching a well-acted drama that has realistic family problems.
Arjun Radhakrishnan in “Ullozhukku” (Photo courtesy of Central Pictures)
Bolstered by credible performances by Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi, the absorbing drama “Ullozhukku” offers an intriguing look at a family disrupted by secrets. The story examines the dilemmas of following traditions versus following one’s heart. An arranged marriage is the starting point for the conflicts that ensue in the story, but the movie is not a criticism of arranged marriages. Rather, it’s a candid observation of what can happen when people have conflicting motives for a marriage, and how these conflicts can do damage in the long run.
Written and directed by Christo Tomy, “Ullozhukku” (which means “undercurrent” in Malayalam) takes place in Kuttanad, India. During most of the story, a steady downpour of rain has caused flooding in Kuttanad, resulting in the delay of the funeral that is a main event in the story. The movie’s title refers to the undercurrent of secrets and lies that could be exposed and could change the lives of family members.
The beginning of “Ullozhukku” shows the wedding of Anju (played by Thiruvothu) and Thomaskutty (played by Prashanth Murali), attended by both sides of the family. It’s an arranged marriage. Thomaskutty is a “mama’s boy” who is doted on by his strong-willed and wealthy mother Leelamma (played by Urvashi), who is divorced. Her ex-husband is deceased.
Anju’s middle-class parents Joseph (played by Alencier Ley Lopez) and Jiji (played by Jaya Kurup) are thrilled that Anju is marrying into a rich family. Anju is an only child. The wedding celebration is festive, although Leelamma gets emotional about “losing” Thomaskutty, who will be starting a new life as a married man.
Some of the wedding happiness was just a façade from Anju, the newlywed bride. During the honeymoon, when Thomaskutty initiates sexual intimacy with her, Anju seems repulsed and is very reluctant to go along with what he wants. It’s a loveless marriage that Anju didn’t really want but she felt pressured by her family to marry Thomaskutty.
It turns out there’s more to why Anju didn’t want to marry Thomaskutty: She’s still in love with a man named Rajeev (played by Arjun Radhakrishnan), whom she broke up with when she got engaged to Thomaskutty. Anju’s parents disapprove of Rajeev (who works as a restaurant server) because he’s in a lower caste and he has a history of being unemployed.
Even though Anju is now married, Rajeev is persistent in wanting to see Anju. At first she tries to avoid Rajeev. But it isn’t long before Anju and Rajeev resume their love affair—this time in secret. Anju and Rajeev become sexually intimate again around the same time that Thomaskutty becomes gravely ill (he has seizures and vomits) and needs 24-hour home care.
Anju and Thomaskutty have a loveless marriage, but Anju pretends to Leelamma that Anju is a devoted wife. The timing of Anju and Rajeev re-igniting their love affair can be interpreted as a way for Anju to escape from the ordeal of her miserable marriage to someone who doesn’t love her and who has a very grim medical diagnosis of having a terminal illness. Thomaskutty has a tumor, but the movie doesn’t say where.
Leelamma moves in with Anju and Thomaskutty to help in taking care of Thomaskutty. With Leelamma in the household, she spends time with Anju and begins to open up to Anju about her life. Leelamma tells Anju that Leelamma’s ex-husband was very cruel to Thomaskutty and eventually abandoned the family when Thomakutty was a child.
Leelamma also expresses heartbreak over her strained relationship with her first child Sheba (played by Smruthi Anish), who is a few years older than Thomaskutty. Sheba rarely visits or contacts Leelamma and Thomaskutty. Leelamma feels abandoned by Sheba and tells Anju that if anything happens to Thomaskutty, then Leelamma doesn’t want Anju to leave Leelamma.
However, Anju secretly has other plans. After Thomaskutty inevitably dies, Anju wants to move out of the area with Ranjeev. Ranjeev later tells Anju that he wants more financial security before they live together. He says he intends to get a better-paying job, and he pressures Anju to convince Leelamma to sign over property to Anju as a widow inheritance.
It’s around this time that Anju finds out that she’s pregnant. She want to keep her pregnancy a secret from Leelamma, but Leelamma figures out that Anju is pregnant because of how Anju is acting. For example, Leelamma catches Anju touching her own abdomen in the way that pregnant women do.
Anju admits to Leelamma that she’s pregnant. The news is announced to the rest of the family. All of this information is revealed in the trailer for “Ullozhukku.” What isn’t revealed in the trailer (but it’s revealed in the movie) is which man is the father of the unborn child. The impending birth of this child makes Leelamma even more determined to exert some control in Anju’s life.
Leelamma is elated that she’s going to become a grandmother, which is one of the main reasons why she was so eager for Thomaskutty to get married. However, shortly after this pregnancy news is revealed, Thomaskutty ends up in a hospital, where he dies. Because of recent flooding in the area, Thomaskutty’s funeral is postponed for several days.
During this waiting period, tensions start to simmer and increase between Leelamma and Anju. After Thomaskutty dies, Anju starts to assert herself more and lets it be known that she’s not going to be a passive widow. The rest of the movie is about how those conflicts are dealt with by various people, as more secrets and lies emerge. A nun named Sister Rosamma (played by Veenah Naair) becomes somewhat of a grief counselor to the family, and she has a pivotal role in the story.
The funeral arrangements also prompt the arrival of Sheba (played by Smruthi Anish), an irritable snob, who never approved of Anju because Sheba thinks Anju’s caste is beneath what Thomaskutty should’ve married. While Anju is desperate to escape from Thomaskutty’s family to be with Rajeev, Anju’s parents are pressuring her to stay close to Leelamma so that Anju and her unborn child can benefit from Leelamma’s wealth.
“Ullozhukku” keeps viewers in suspense over what will happen in this story and doesn’t follow a lot of predictable storylines. It should come as no surprise that Leelamma has secrets too, but they aren’t as shocking as what some viewers might expect. “Ullozhukku” doesn’t pass judgment on Anju’s infidelity but it does have a scathing indictment of what caste prejudices and greed can do to people and relationships.
What also makes “Ullozhukku” an above-average family drama is that the movie doesn’t present anyone as a clear “hero” or “villain.” (Sheba is the most mean-spirited character in the film, but the movie hints there’s more to Sheba’s story that remains untold.) The main characters are all flawed human beings who make selfish decisions that are often motivated by love intentions, even if those intentions might be misguided or wrong by other people’s standards.
“Ullozhukku” has very artful direction and a well-written screenplay. However, the “Ullozhukku” wouldn’t be as impactful if the wrong people had been cast in the film. The movie’s performances show admirable talent, especially from Thiruvothu and Urvashi, who don’t hit any false notes in their scenes.
Anju and Leelamma are two women who are seemingly very different from each other but they actually have something big in common: They are both lonely people who want to find happiness with a loved one, even if painful sacrifices need to be made. “Ullozhukku” has a powerful ending scene that shows how people can learn unexpected things about themselves and what they want out of life.
Central Pictures released “Ullozhukku” in select U.S. cinemas on July 4, 2024. The movie was released in India on June 21, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in India and partially in Japan and in Germany, from 1952 to 2017, the dramatic film “Chandu Champion” features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Indian Army soldier Murlikant Petkar’s dream of becoming an Olympic gold medalist boxer is shattered when he is severely wounded in the Indo-Pakistani War, and he re-invents himself as a swimmer who trains for the Paralympics.
Culture Audience: “Chandu Champion” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and are interested in watching an inspiring biopic about an underrated athlete.
Kartik Aaryan in “Chandu Champion” (Photo courtesy of Pen Marudhar Entertainment)
“Chandu Champion” has a familiar formula of sports underdog movies, but in this case, the formula works marvelously. It’s a well-acted and artfully filmed biopic about Paralympic champion Murlikant Petkar. Even if you didn’t know this true story before watching the movie, it’s easy to predict how the movie is going to end. That predictability doesn’t take away from emotion-stirring thrills and heartbreaks that viewers will experience in this cinematic journey.
Directed by Kabir Khan, “Chandu Champion” was co-written by Khan, Sumit Arora and Sudipto Sarkar. The movie takes place from 1952 to 2017, mostly in India and partially in Germany. Because the movie trailers for “Chandu Champion” reveal almost the entire story arc that’s presented in the film, it leaves very little room for surprises. However, this 142-minute film doesn’t feel overly long or overstuffed with filler because the movie’s writing, directing and acting are very good at maintaining interest and keeping viewers emotionally invested.
“Chandu Champion” begins in 2017, when Murlikant “Murli” Petkar (played by Kartik Aaryan), who is 72 or 73, walks into a police station and announces that he wants to file a complaint against the president of India for not getting the Arjuna Award, which is India’s second-highest prize for sports achievements. (For the purposes of this review, the real Murlikant “Murli” Petkar will be referred to as Petkar, while the Murlikant “Murli” Petkar character in “Chandu Champion” will be referred to as Murli.) Murli then proceeds to tell the gathered police officers his life story, which are presented as flashbacks in the movie.
In 1952, when Murli was 7 or 8 years old (played by Ayan Khan Sroha), he was smaller than most boys his age. He grew up in the village of Peth Islampur in Maharashtra, India. As a boy, Murli was a big fan of wrestling. And he would tell almost everyone that he was going to become a Olympic gold medalist wrestler. Murli’s father (played by Nitin Bhajan) thinks it’s a foolish dream, while Murli’s mother (played by Hemangi Kavi) is supportive of Murli.
Unfortunately, other boys in the village began to mercilessly taunt and bully Murli for expressing his wrestling goals. One bully in particular named Dagdu Patil (played by Haraq Bhartiya) singles out Murli for physical fights. Undeterred, Murli seeks out a villager named Ganpat Bhau (played by Ganesh Yadav), who is known to train wrestling champions. Murli asks Ganpat to train him as a wrestler. Because of Murli’s young age and small size, Ganpat laughs at Murli’s request.
The movie than flashes forward to a young adult Murli (played by Aaryan), who is now tall and has a lean but muscular build. Murli is now a talented wrestler, but Dagdu Patil (played by Amit Kumar) is still Murli’s enemy. When Murli wins a public but informal wrestling match against Dagdu, several of Dagdu’s supporters get very angry and turn into a violent mob chasing Murli. (The very fake-looking wig that Aaryan wears in these scenes is a distraction, but it doesn’t ruin these scenes.)
A frightened Murli manages to escape by hopping on a slow-moving train. It’s on this train that he meets mild-mannered Karnail Singh (played by Bhuvan Arora), who is a recruit in the Indian Army. Murli tells Karnail about his dream to become an Olympc gold medalist in wrestling. Karnail suggests that Murlikant join the Indian Army so that Murli can get trained as a boxer.
And that’s exactly what happens. Murli’s boxing coach in the Army is Tiger Ali (played by Vijay Raaz), who becomes Murli’s most important mentor. Karnail becomes Murli’s best friend. Murli becomes a boxer who wins many fights. He and Karnail are selected to take part in the international Military Games in Tokyo. It’s at a Miltary Games reception where Murli meets a editor/journalist (played by Sonali Kulkarni), who takes an interest him on a professional level. She will play a pivotal role later in the story.
Murli’s life takes an unexpected turn in 1965, when he is shot with nine bullets while in combat during the Indo-Pakistani War. He ends up with paraplegia and is told by medical professionals that it would be too dangerous to remove one of the bullets lodged in his back because it would leave Murli with an even more serious paralysis. Murli then decides to re-invent himself as a swimmer who trains for the 1972 Paralympics in Germany, with Tiger as his coach. None of this is spoiler information because it’s all in the trailer for “Chandu Champion.”
During his long and painful recovery in a hospice, Murli battles depression not just because of his medical issues but also because his family denied his request to move back home with them. His family members think that Murli is better off at the hospice, where he can get the medical care that he needs. Murli befriends a cheerful hospice orderly named Topaz (played by Rajpal Yadav), who is able to lift Murli’s spirits most of the time.
“Chandu Champion” is probably the most physically demanding role of Aaryan’s career. He more than rises to the challenge, because the grueling transformations that Murli goes through look very authentic. Aaryan has been mostly known for starring in lightweight comedies, but he capably shows his acting versatility in “Chandu Champion,” which depicts Murli’s obstacles and triumphs in a very compelling manner.
On a technical level, “Chandu Champion” has excellent cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee. One of the best scenes in the film is toward the end when Murli sees flashes of his life during a very important swimming competition. It’s a combination of the immersive cinematography, film editing and visual effects that make this scene so memorable.
The movie also has a rousing musical score by Julius Packiam. Thankfully, “Chandu Champion” avoids having a sound mix that that makes the score music too loud, which is one of the most irritating aspects of numerous movies with action scenes. The song-and-dance musical interludes in “Chandu Champion” seem out of place but luckily do not take up a lot of screen time.
“Chandu Champion” is a worthy tribute to a sports hero who might not be on a superstar level but deserves to have more people know about his story. Beyond what Petkar achieved in real life as an athlete is what he represents as a human being, in terms of bravery and perseverance. It’s an inspirational story that people can take to heart, no matter who they are.
Pen Marudhar Entertainment released “Chandu Champion” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on June 14, 2024.
