akshaykamble

Having lived through the harrowing COVID-19 pandemic and all that it changed in our lives is an experience that we will never forget. It left a deep impact on our psyche and for better or for worse, in many ways, it acted as a huge unifier in our diverse societal landscape. Yet, each one of us had to endure the pandemic, and especially, the lockdown, in a different way. Some had to deal with sheer boredom and loneliness, while some had to battle the pros and cons of working from home and doing domestic chores among other problems. The magnitude of each one's problems could be different, but we all had to live through times that no one in the world was prepared for. And that's what made it scary, and traumatic for many.

More than 2 years after the first countrywide lockdown in India, director Madhur Bhandarkar and his writers (Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah) have come up with a compilation of stories that are real and relatable. It's a rather simplistic take and a micro approach to what happened during the pandemic in the lives of people across social strata. In them is a retired senior citizen L Nageshwar Rao (Prakash Belawadi), a poor couple Madhav (Pratiek Babbar) and Phoolmati (Sai Tamhankar) doing odd jobs and struggling to make ends meet, a sex worker Mehrunnisa (Shweta Basu Prasad), a pilot, Moon Alves (Aahana Kumra) and testosterone-charged young lovers Dev (Satvik Bhatiaa) and Palak (Zarin Shihab), who are separated physically, due to the lockdown.

Most of what these characters go through is inspired from real events, hence, one can identify with their situation. The story is largely predictable and also filled with quite a few cliches in terms of its characterisations. A few talented actors like Prakash Belawadi, and Sai Tamhankar excel in their respective parts. Prateik Babbar makes an honest attempt but still doesn't come across as convincing as he should while Shweta Prasad Basu is loud and over-the-top. Aahana Kumra, Satvik Bhatiaa and Zarin Shihab are good in their respective roles.

While this Madhur Bhandarkar directorial lacks the depth and layering in characters like we saw in some of his finest works ('Page 3', 'Chandni Bar' and 'Fashion'), it does have moments that will touch your heart and remind you of the helplessness of the time. In the end, the fact that you can watch this film and perhaps see yourself in one of its characters, is a rewarding feeling of being alive.

Another Thursday, another episode of Koffee with Karan Season 7, but the same me hoping that at least this time some interesting gossip and conversations will brew over a cup of coffee on the show. Alas! Here I am disappointed not just with the guests Ananya Panday and Vijay Deverakonda, but also with the host Karan Johar.

KJo, on the show, often mentions that he has turned 50. But I guess with age, only his reading glasses have changed. He remains an adolescent who thinks interesting conversations happen only when you get people to talk about their sex lives, their love lives and say that they hate their contemporaries.

In the fourth episode of his chat show, Karan Johar made sure Ananya Panday admits that she "hates" her contemporaries when she tried to explain that she has a "healthy competition" with actors of her generation. South star Vijay Deverakonda, who was seemingly out of place and awkward on the show, spoke less and maintained his poise. And, to make him churn out some juicy stuff which is meme-worthy, KJo chose to discuss the intimate details of his personal life. The host asked Deverakonda, "When did you last have sex?", "Would you like a threesome?", "What is the way to your bed?" And, when Deverakonda didn't give 'desirable' replies, he was called "an old uncle" by KJo. Alas, the irony!

We got to hear Deverakonda utter a few words only when he talked about the privilege of star kids and his breakout film Arjun Reddy. But Panday, as Deverakonda called her, was a "juvenile" who wants to fight with Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Khan over Deverakonda, whom they called a "piece of cheese". It was so distasteful to watch three grown-up women, who are doing good on the professional front, fight over a man.

Where are the times when Koffee with Karan saw chemistry oozing between the guests and Karan Johar got them to open up to him like never before? Now, it's just about inside jokes, which is anything but entertaining for viewers.

Watched on Amazon Prime.

Generally, the term well-crafted film is used to describe a film that has been made well, but with Vikram Vedha, it applies to not just the filmmaking, but the script, too. Directors Pushkar and Gayatri have borrowed the conceit of King Vikramadityan and the Vedhalam, and constructed an elaborate puzzle, setting their story in the cops and gangsters genre.

The plot unfolds as a cat-and-mouse game between hard-nosed cop Vikram (Madhavan, stylish and serious) and notorious gangster Vedha (Vijay Sethupathi, who is all swag and gets a kickass introduction scene). The film begins with an encounter operation that ends in some of Vedha's men getting killed. And even as the team plots another encounter to finish off Vedha, the criminal surrenders - and, narrates a story from his life to Vikram before managing his 'escape'! This happens two more times, but his stories are actually riddles that Vedha wants Vikram to solve, and lead him on to something that the two of them want.

There are about a dozen supporting players involved in this game between Vikram and Vedha. Vikram's wife Priya (Shraddha Srinath), who is also Vedha's lawyer; Vikram's team, which includes SP Surendar (Achyutha Kumar), who has become disabled in the line of duty, and Simon (Prem), Vikram's friend; Vedha's brother Pulli (Kathir) and his girlfriend Chandra (Varalaxmi), who are pawns in a more dangerous game; Chetta (Haresh Peradi), a rival gangster whom Vedha is warring against; and also Vedha's men, one of whom has been colluding with the cops.

Some might find this structure of Vikram Vedha tiresome, and it is, in fact, one of the reasons why the film seems laidback. But it is with the climax that we realise what the directors were going for all along - a playful action film with more intrigue and less intensity. Until then, the film feels like a confidently narrated genre film that is limited by its genre constraints. But once things click, for us, in the climax, we realise that the clues are there right from the start - from the directors' filmography to the title design, the opening credits (an animated version of the Vikramadityan-Vedhalam story, voiced by Nasser), and even the studied framing of both the visuals and the plot. Even the casual conversations that Vikram has with his team in the beginning, which feel like mere efforts at world-building, are carefully assembled puzzle pieces.

This is also why we do not fall in love entirely with the film. Even as we admire how cool the actors look and perform, how elegant PS Vinod's visuals are, how poetic the concept of Yaanji, the romantic track involving Vikram and Priya is (their story unfolds even as they are unpacking their stuff) and how electric Sam Cs's score is, something seems amiss. And that something is lack of gravitas. The reason why Vikram is so obsessed over Vedha is never convincingly established - we get the routine similar men on different sides of a line explanation, but in a film that is so well thought-out, this angle doesn't feel that compelling.