glaneljhonathan

This movie had every ingredient money could buy, yet it failed to make a good dish.

I would like to summarise this movie with the following:

Friend : Do you wanna watch Singham Again?

Friend 2 : I'd rather watch "Singham" again!

Enough Said!

Wherever the old more tolerable Rohit Shetty went!

Better go for Bhool Bhulaiya 3 instead if you're gonna spend for a lot of people. I mean there's not much logic there as well, but at least it has its moments - some parts are genuinely heartfelt and humorous, and the acting isn't abysmal, and they are trying to give a genuine message, and it's actually kinda believable unlike this unforgivable mess. Here it's more like they forced everyone to overact, even the otherwise decent actors. My only pet peeve in BB3 would be the lack of option to fast forward most of the out-of-nowhere song scenes & lack of horror to my taste. But SA is a pet peeve in entirety!

A movie that doesn't put the main character of the biography on a pedestal, going against the norm. Not only does it highlight the greats of the character while heroising him, but also is not afraid to show the grey areas and flaws of the same in the most honest way possible with no sugar coating. There's no typical dramatic fall & rise and fall & rise, it just flows naturally & authentically in a believable manner.

Great casting and great acting by all of them involved, with no unnecessary glamour & diagetic song sequences & larger than life portrayals. Even during slight moments of cinematic exaggerations, it's believable rather than overly dramatic, because of the way it has been shot and edited & because of the direction of natural performances, even from the side characters with barely any screen-time.

I love how the film doesn't ignore or forget to acknowledge the other characters who played a part in supporting the growth of the main character, almost reminiscent of the Hollywood film Wonder (2015). I even love how it doesn't shy away from calling spade a spade, be it even the flaws in the system in the country that needs attention to be worked on. After 12th Fail, this is another solid film that gets things right & strives to be authentic with great ambition and production value as Hollywood. Good improvement for a Bollywood film for striving to strike that balance lately.

The end of this movie doesn't fill you with unnecessary temporary pity & want to compensate, but actually manages to bluntly change your vision towards differently abled, whether it made you emotional or not, and that's a great output for me. Making a person seem like a person who was able to achieve and bring about the necessary changes through the right means, & not some overly celebrated hero of fiction with insurmountable plot-armor. Despite the subject matter & encounters with some very important people with stature, it still manages to keep it simple, & this is what this movie is able to achieve effectively; while also not failing to celebrate the spirit & essence of that person. Much needed!

Though I watched it long back... Honestly, never clicked on an Indian Netflix movie so fast, watched it in one go, and liked it this much, despite initially having doubts. What an epitome to relate to in this current time and generation! And you don't have to relate to each & everything to understand or feel the core essence of this movie, which is nevertheless portrayed realistically enough.

I was glad this came out just in time to end the year 2023 and begin anew with a thoughtful message. Surprisingly, everybody did a great job at acting, even Ananya Pandey!

Might I say, finally something one-upped "Love Today" in its genre in India.