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indibap's rating
A good movie with good performance by the two leading ladies who are protagonists. The screenplay could have been better and tighter and the direction was good.
OK Computer (2021) Hindi, Web Series (Disney+Hotstar) Review,
A Sci-Fi comedy that begins slowly, irritates, engages, questions the different norms and has a philosophical ending that satisfies the intellect without the laughs, that should have been the primary objective.
The story which fuses Asimov's Laws of Robotics (shown earlier in, Doctor Who, Aliens, I Robot etc) and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; narrates the story set in 2031 in which a cyber police detective, Saajan Kundu (Vijay Verma), who hates robots, is investigating a murder supposedly committed by a self driving Android car. Joining him in the investigation is Monalisa Paul (Kani Kusruti), a Malayali Junior Constable and Laxmi Suri (Radhika Apte), who believes that Robots are incapable of murder and represents PETER (People for the ethical treatment of every robot). Their investigations point out a big corporate person, CNX who produces Robots for various works. Also, playing a part in this narrative is Pushpak Shakur (Jackie Shroff) who believes technology is a curse and runs a cult called JJM (Jigyasu Jagruti Manch). The investigations of Saajan and Laxmi lead to Ajeeb, a highly sophisticated AI robot cum messiah cum stand up comic (Voiced annoyingly and highly irritably) and later on to his maker/creator Satoshi Mondal (Rasika Dugal).
Acting by Rasika, Jackie and specially Kani Kusruti and Ratnabali is excellent but Radhika is too overpitched for her character (Seemed like an exaggerated version of Greta Thunberg) and Vijay Verma is not being able to bring out the nuances in his character. Producer Anand Gandhi and creators Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar try hard to make this an incoherent but engaging mockumentary drama that addresses many issues of the country. While this acts as a relief in the beginning but gradually becomes too verbose, monologous and boring. The characters, sometimes break the fourth wall, which is ok sometimes but becomes nagging after a while. The main problem is that the series tries to do too much, it tries to address the current political scenario, the kind of protests that occurs nowadays, also try to show the nature of people that justify something as pro-this , anti-this amidst a continual debate on man vs machine vs nature. Sometimes, stay in real time, sometimes in flashbacks and sometimes in the virtual world. There is talk of binary, robotics and quantum physics and then there are references to the complex human relationships. It's just too much to take in 6-episode series. The investigation is full of elementary mistakes and the most important thing, yes there is satire and very good at that and very little, but where is the comedy?? All characters having eccentric characteristics does not bring out comedy but rather presents an incoherent and mind numbing chaos.
If anyone can slide past the chaotic story and reach the middle of the 4th episode, then he/she can get some just fulfillment for their efforts. The shining part of the entire narrative is a debate on human evolution and are we really still the most smartest people on earth or have we reached our zenith of achievements already and now we are the burden and is it time to hand over the reins to the machines and enjoy the calmness of nature, so that nature and machines can co-exist without humans. Think hard and watch the series, OK Computer.
A Sci-Fi comedy that begins slowly, irritates, engages, questions the different norms and has a philosophical ending that satisfies the intellect without the laughs, that should have been the primary objective.
The story which fuses Asimov's Laws of Robotics (shown earlier in, Doctor Who, Aliens, I Robot etc) and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; narrates the story set in 2031 in which a cyber police detective, Saajan Kundu (Vijay Verma), who hates robots, is investigating a murder supposedly committed by a self driving Android car. Joining him in the investigation is Monalisa Paul (Kani Kusruti), a Malayali Junior Constable and Laxmi Suri (Radhika Apte), who believes that Robots are incapable of murder and represents PETER (People for the ethical treatment of every robot). Their investigations point out a big corporate person, CNX who produces Robots for various works. Also, playing a part in this narrative is Pushpak Shakur (Jackie Shroff) who believes technology is a curse and runs a cult called JJM (Jigyasu Jagruti Manch). The investigations of Saajan and Laxmi lead to Ajeeb, a highly sophisticated AI robot cum messiah cum stand up comic (Voiced annoyingly and highly irritably) and later on to his maker/creator Satoshi Mondal (Rasika Dugal).
Acting by Rasika, Jackie and specially Kani Kusruti and Ratnabali is excellent but Radhika is too overpitched for her character (Seemed like an exaggerated version of Greta Thunberg) and Vijay Verma is not being able to bring out the nuances in his character. Producer Anand Gandhi and creators Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar try hard to make this an incoherent but engaging mockumentary drama that addresses many issues of the country. While this acts as a relief in the beginning but gradually becomes too verbose, monologous and boring. The characters, sometimes break the fourth wall, which is ok sometimes but becomes nagging after a while. The main problem is that the series tries to do too much, it tries to address the current political scenario, the kind of protests that occurs nowadays, also try to show the nature of people that justify something as pro-this , anti-this amidst a continual debate on man vs machine vs nature. Sometimes, stay in real time, sometimes in flashbacks and sometimes in the virtual world. There is talk of binary, robotics and quantum physics and then there are references to the complex human relationships. It's just too much to take in 6-episode series. The investigation is full of elementary mistakes and the most important thing, yes there is satire and very good at that and very little, but where is the comedy?? All characters having eccentric characteristics does not bring out comedy but rather presents an incoherent and mind numbing chaos.
If anyone can slide past the chaotic story and reach the middle of the 4th episode, then he/she can get some just fulfillment for their efforts. The shining part of the entire narrative is a debate on human evolution and are we really still the most smartest people on earth or have we reached our zenith of achievements already and now we are the burden and is it time to hand over the reins to the machines and enjoy the calmness of nature, so that nature and machines can co-exist without humans. Think hard and watch the series, OK Computer.
JL50 (2020) SonyLiv, Hindi, Web series Review, My rating: 3.5/5.
"Hamare desh mein problem ye hai ke akash mein kuch bhi dikh jaye to hum haath jor ke pranam karte hai, we don't ask why, how, what" Prof. Subrata Das in JL50. I am starting my review with the above dialogue because it encapsulates the spirit of the series. A flight crashes near Darjeeling and CBI officer Shantanu (Abhay Deol) & Gouranga (Rajesh Sharma) is sent there to investigate whether it is the AO26 which went missing recently but to their surprise they discover that the flight is JL50 that took off 35 years ago from Kolkata. At first they think this is an elaborate setup and question the pilot (Ritika Anand) about this. The other survivor, a passenger (Piyush Mishra) is yet to recover. While all evidence points that this is the same flight JL50, Shantanu is sceptical and wants to prove this is a hoax and seeks the help of a physics teacher, Prof. Subrata Das (Pankaj Kapur) to prove his theory. Shantanu and Prof. Das try to find whether this is time travel or a hoax.
The series was supposed to be a movie but couldn't get a release. Writer director Shailender Vyas does a good job of writing (some things could have been better focused upon and hence some parts were skecthy; and a part of the plot was predictable) but the direction was somewhat patchy. The soul of the series is its cinematography and music. The shots of Kolkata was really good bringing a vibrant yet mystical feel about it. The shots of the Darjeeling roads were strikingly beautiful. The music as well as the background score accentuates the visual tone with its apt usage of Bengali folk in between. The editing could have been better and the VFX was ordinary. However it is the performance of the entire cast that takes this to a whole new level and it is the ustaad, Pankaj Kapur who steals the show.
Lastly, a genuinely engaging science fiction thriller that has it's share of flaws but is highly praiseworthy for attempting something different. A higher budget would surely have resulted a better product that could compete with the best. A must watch for everyone.
"Hamare desh mein problem ye hai ke akash mein kuch bhi dikh jaye to hum haath jor ke pranam karte hai, we don't ask why, how, what" Prof. Subrata Das in JL50. I am starting my review with the above dialogue because it encapsulates the spirit of the series. A flight crashes near Darjeeling and CBI officer Shantanu (Abhay Deol) & Gouranga (Rajesh Sharma) is sent there to investigate whether it is the AO26 which went missing recently but to their surprise they discover that the flight is JL50 that took off 35 years ago from Kolkata. At first they think this is an elaborate setup and question the pilot (Ritika Anand) about this. The other survivor, a passenger (Piyush Mishra) is yet to recover. While all evidence points that this is the same flight JL50, Shantanu is sceptical and wants to prove this is a hoax and seeks the help of a physics teacher, Prof. Subrata Das (Pankaj Kapur) to prove his theory. Shantanu and Prof. Das try to find whether this is time travel or a hoax.
The series was supposed to be a movie but couldn't get a release. Writer director Shailender Vyas does a good job of writing (some things could have been better focused upon and hence some parts were skecthy; and a part of the plot was predictable) but the direction was somewhat patchy. The soul of the series is its cinematography and music. The shots of Kolkata was really good bringing a vibrant yet mystical feel about it. The shots of the Darjeeling roads were strikingly beautiful. The music as well as the background score accentuates the visual tone with its apt usage of Bengali folk in between. The editing could have been better and the VFX was ordinary. However it is the performance of the entire cast that takes this to a whole new level and it is the ustaad, Pankaj Kapur who steals the show.
Lastly, a genuinely engaging science fiction thriller that has it's share of flaws but is highly praiseworthy for attempting something different. A higher budget would surely have resulted a better product that could compete with the best. A must watch for everyone.