India Lockdown

Talking about the performances, Ayushmann is evergreen and moves the character arc as beautifully as ever. His efforts on the body language deserve a special mention as he retains an easy-to-miss "nerd posture" throughout the film and his comic timing during confrontational scenes is just phenomenal. Shweta basu is a gem of an actor who deserves every superlative in the dictionary. More than her acting, it's her screen presence which is so bright that sometimes it even manages to almost eclipse a fantastic actor like Prateik. Aahana is fantastic in her liberal mother role but she isn't given enough to chew in the first half. Aahana does well as the self-possessed but still figuring herself out character. Special mentions for the supporting actors who plays the teen girl and the nurse.

However, the film is also marred with noticeable flaws - the most conspicuous of which is the disappointingly terrible and distracting background score by Prateik, specially in the first half. Even his quirky music in the first half is harsh on the ears and often too loud when it's in juxtaposition with dialogues for us to be able to hear what the actors are speaking. The comedy writing in the first half tries too hard and the punchline setups are often either too predictable or just don't land. Madhur Bhandarkar is in far more control of the screenplay in the second half and that includes the subtle and unobvious jokes which work really well in it. Watch out for the Zalima moment - easily the funniest sequence of the film.

India Lockdown review :

We are probably the first (and hopefully last) generation to have experienced a disease induced country wide lockdown- something which taught us to work from/at home and made online communication a part of our everyday lives. Only this lockdown which started on the fateful evening of 24th March and extended till mid June 2020 wasn't as kind for the lower middle and labour class who lost their bread and butter...and some their lives!!

Madhur Bhandarkar, acclaimed for his realistic cinema, chooses this grim chapter which will invariably find a place in Indian history. " Bomb blasts, 26/11 aur floods mein bhi Mumbai chalta raha...yeh Corona naam ki kya musibat hai!!" goes the lament which accurately reflects the mood of that time. Indeed, the Covid lockdown was something unprecedented, harsh but highly essential as a precautionary measure.

Bhandarkar chooses to showcase all classes of the society to reflect how the covid lockdown impacted every Indian. There is a senior citizen (Prakash Belawadi) stuck in locked up Mumbai when he was about to travel to Hyderabad for his daughter's delivery. A migrant couple (Prateik Babbar- Sai Tamhankar) lose their jobs in Mumbai and have no option but to walk all the way to their hometown in Bihar. A lady pilot (Aahana Kumra) befriends her new "virgin" neighbour and they get close in this lockdown state. Lastly, a Kamathipura prostitute (Shweta Basu Prasad) runs out of business and devises a new trick to earn some grub - phone sex.

The screenplay is fast paced as well as relatable to a significant extent. The hardships faced by every strata is accurately explored by Bhandarkar without making the movie appear like a mundane documentary. His trademark flair for mixing commercial elements in to realism is evident once again. The climax where all the sub plots merge together seamlessly is also commendable.

Bhandarkar has the knack of extracting the best from his ladies and he doesn't disappoint here as well. Shweta Basu Prasad is simply outstanding, Sai Tamhankar is utterly convincing as the hapless poor migrant coping with blatant passes made at her and lastly, Aahana Kumra springs a pleasant surprise with her superlative act reminding you of the seductive Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). I wish the film was bold enough to consumate her love...but alas!!

Prateik Babbar is another well etched character and the way he rummages through garbage for a piece of food is gut wrenching. Certain scenes create a shock value like an ambulance used by a vile corporator for sex and a well to do dude casually dismissing covid as a sham dying of the same in no time.

All in all, India Lockdown is certainly worth a one time watch. It is a near accurate account of all the breaking news we saw and read in those turbulent times when survival was more important than personal progress. Fortunately, we all lived to see a film made on it today. Cheers for that!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

India Lockdown tries to depict how COVID and the lockdowns that followed affected the lives of people belonging to the various sections of Indian society. Now, this is not the first film made with the backdrop of coronavirus, and in all probability it won't be the last as well, but the thing that matters is that regardless of how important an event you select as the backdrop of your movie, it needs to be told in the form of a story, otherwise it would feel like a documentary, something that holds true for this film as well. Some things are happening in the film, but it's not quite clear as to what is the intention of the director, what exactly does he want to say through this movie. It looks like the director and his research team picked up some examples from real life and put them into this movie, but forgot to weave them into a properly structured story.

Among the four stories being told simultaneously, the story that moves you the most is the one with Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar. One of the most heartbreaking consequences of the lockdown was the mass exodus of migrant workers, and we get a first-hand experience of that traumatic phase through Madhav and his wife, as they wander around helplessly on the streets. It was as it is depressing to revisit those visuals once again, but the believability with which those two actors have portrayed their roles made it even more painful to watch. Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar are extremely underrated actors and both of them have given a beautiful performance in this segment of the movie.

The Mehrunissa chapter with Shweta Basu Prasad also felt like a retelling of some real life instances that may have happened during the lockdown, there was no real story there. I kept wondering as to where are we headed with this, what is the point of what we are watching, but I got nothing. It feels as if the director just wanted to show how sex workers were operating during coronavirus, that's all. The problem however with this kind of filmmaking is that your movie starts to look like a documentary. Shweta Basu Prasad is a very capable actress, but in most of the scenes of this movie, she was extremely loud and over the top. Perhaps she was trying to impersonate some real life sex worker, but she should have kept it a few notches lower. It was only towards the end that she gave a glimpse of the brilliance that she possesses as an actress.

Prakash Belawadi was extremely grounded in his portrayal of Nageshwar, but his segment too felt like a soulless piece of screenplay. Through Nageshwar's story, the director was telling us something that we are already aware of. If we wanted to see things happening around us, we would watch the news or read it; we don't watch a movie for that. Events taking place around us are supposed to be used as the setting, something that helps the director in laying down the basic groundwork of his main story; turning that particular news story into your screenplay is just lazy work. The main focus has to be there on the main characters and their journey, otherwise there is no real point of making a film.

The segment with Dev, Palak and Moon Alvez was not only dull and predictable but also the weakest in terms of acting performances. While the young actors just didn't know how to act, Aahana Kumra on the other hand was extremely loud in every single scene.

No one likes to watch a boring and poorly written film, but unfortunately that is precisely what 'India Lockdown' is.

One time watch, focuses more on the adult content, ending seems to be incomplete, there may be a 2nd part I'm expecting, never revealed about it.

Be aware that it is an A certificate movie before watching it with family.

Should've been released in 2021, the movie don't have a strong/famous actors support, feels like you are watching a good simple YouTube short film,

The music and background score is good, songs are not effective.

All you have is hilarious adult comedy, where everyone really enjoys.

The best part in the movie is it shows the life of a Pearson from rich to people who walked all the way from Mumbai to Bihar.

Verdict: one time watch, may not be for all the category people.