thirdvantagepoint
Joined Jul 2017
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Ratings12
thirdvantagepoint's rating
Reviews10
thirdvantagepoint's rating
Ribbon is a subtly played yet on-your-face act of life that does not yell melodrama for a minute and breathes realism in every frame! In fact, it is a poignant and matured study of life's struggles in the Maximum City (or for that matter any other city) where young working couples go through the grinding ups and downs of life and its various shades and yet keep going on, just like a rolling reel of a ribbon!
The film works very effectively on multiple fronts:
-> This slice of life cinema tells the tale as a matter of fact without getting judgemental about why certain things happen or whose onus is it. These are characters very relatable, they are not perfect, they struggle, they lose their cool, they stand by each other as rock solid support when needed, and they also fight with each other with wild outbursts of all resentments every couple would have gone through! Co- writers Rakhee Sandilya and Rajeev Upadhyay keep all the proceedings extremely grounded and hence connect this couple to the audience right through all the trials and tribulations that they go through from beginning to end. Yes, there are scenes where the monotony of life shows up and one feels nothing much is happening, but isn't that what life is about?
-> Shoutout for the excellent work by Rakhee Sandilya, the director and her entire team! The camera work through handhelds, the neat production design gives a great sense of the cramped urban spaces, or creeky creches, reputed schools, small but thriving corporate firms and everything surrounding them! The wardrobe and styling of the leads is contemporary and is totally in sync with the tone of the film! The background score is measured and sparse as needed! The editing is lazy in parts, but I did not find the film stretched or slow for a moment! Rakhee keeps it all under her control throughout, and sucks you in to her story.
-> The biggest success of Rakhee though is the amazing performance that she extracts out of Kiearra Soni, the little child! Your heart will go out to her innocence and unadulterated smile as the story unfolds! Aashi is the hidden treasure of the film! Does not matter so much that the other side-characters don't have much to do, or can match up to this wonderful little girl or her parents!
-> And then, we have these powerhouse performances by both Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas, who bring everything to life in Ribbon! Kalki outshines her own self in a fully author backed role, and delivers one of her best performances here! Her face and her eyes is this vivid canvas of emotions that expresses everything without effort and that is what differentiates her from the rest! But, full marks to Sumeet Vyas too - he actually gets a character arch that is not fully developed in comparison and yet excels matching up to Kalki frame by frame! I hope to see him in meatier roles in many more films to come!
If cinema means a slice of life reflection for you where problems not necessarily come to a well-defined closure, but leaves you moved and disturbed; then do give Ribbon its due! Relevant films like these ought to be made and discussed, and for that to happen, they need to be watched! Go - Watch it!
The film works very effectively on multiple fronts:
-> This slice of life cinema tells the tale as a matter of fact without getting judgemental about why certain things happen or whose onus is it. These are characters very relatable, they are not perfect, they struggle, they lose their cool, they stand by each other as rock solid support when needed, and they also fight with each other with wild outbursts of all resentments every couple would have gone through! Co- writers Rakhee Sandilya and Rajeev Upadhyay keep all the proceedings extremely grounded and hence connect this couple to the audience right through all the trials and tribulations that they go through from beginning to end. Yes, there are scenes where the monotony of life shows up and one feels nothing much is happening, but isn't that what life is about?
-> Shoutout for the excellent work by Rakhee Sandilya, the director and her entire team! The camera work through handhelds, the neat production design gives a great sense of the cramped urban spaces, or creeky creches, reputed schools, small but thriving corporate firms and everything surrounding them! The wardrobe and styling of the leads is contemporary and is totally in sync with the tone of the film! The background score is measured and sparse as needed! The editing is lazy in parts, but I did not find the film stretched or slow for a moment! Rakhee keeps it all under her control throughout, and sucks you in to her story.
-> The biggest success of Rakhee though is the amazing performance that she extracts out of Kiearra Soni, the little child! Your heart will go out to her innocence and unadulterated smile as the story unfolds! Aashi is the hidden treasure of the film! Does not matter so much that the other side-characters don't have much to do, or can match up to this wonderful little girl or her parents!
-> And then, we have these powerhouse performances by both Kalki Koechlin and Sumeet Vyas, who bring everything to life in Ribbon! Kalki outshines her own self in a fully author backed role, and delivers one of her best performances here! Her face and her eyes is this vivid canvas of emotions that expresses everything without effort and that is what differentiates her from the rest! But, full marks to Sumeet Vyas too - he actually gets a character arch that is not fully developed in comparison and yet excels matching up to Kalki frame by frame! I hope to see him in meatier roles in many more films to come!
If cinema means a slice of life reflection for you where problems not necessarily come to a well-defined closure, but leaves you moved and disturbed; then do give Ribbon its due! Relevant films like these ought to be made and discussed, and for that to happen, they need to be watched! Go - Watch it!
There is indeed a secret star in this year's diwali release by Aamir Khan and Advait Chandan! No, I am not talking about Zaira Wasim or Meher Vij, but about this lovely boy called Tirth Sharma who gives a brilliantly natural and the most subtle performance in the film! Its a pleasure watching his expressions and honest portrayal of a lovely friend, and the scenes between him and Zaira are some of the best I liked in the overall film!
At his extreme other end is the real superstar, Mr. Aamir Khan, who just delivers a knockout act with the sleazy over the top Shakti Kumarr, who is as cheesy as it can get, but he just lets it all down and makes you literally laugh out loud, every time he is on the screen! Drawing inspirations from Himesh in real life and Taal's Anil Kapoor in reel life, Aamir just blows you away like a rockstar, salute to his versatility in pulling off this after the much nuanced Dangal! I actually stopped over to watch his funny last song, along with the rest of the theatre, and left with a broad smile!
And now lets talk about the Maliks! At the end of it, the story actually revolves around them - this girl called Insia, and the 2 very important characters in her life who have a diametrically opposite influence on her - a mother who is her life, and a father she wishes was dead (and vice versa)! As the parents, I felt that Raj Arjun hits the nail with his Farookh! He lets you hate him without resorting to any over the top exaggerated or loud performance, but is chilling and venomous enough with his speaking eyes, cold gestures and well nuanced act! It is sad then that the mother and the daughter characters are written in a way that is overtly emotional and in fact even somewhat manipulative in the drama to make it a forced tear jerker! I did like Meher Vij in most parts, she looks very honest, tries to deliver honestly as well, but the script does not help her! And it does not help Zaira Wasim too! Frankly, Zaira looks and acts way too much more maturedly than what this character demanded in my opinion, and in the process compromises on the spontaneity of the fifteen year old daughter completely! I could not help but compare with the extremely natural and endearing bond played out by Swara Bhaskar and Ria Shukla as mother daughter in Nil Battey Sannata which felt so much more genuine and heartfelt in that setup! In spite of all the drama and forced emotions here, somewhere this pain does not touch you and that is where I felt the connect missing big time in this film!
Rather than this bond, I found the film doing much more justice in depicting the anxiety, reactions, and everything else that is a teenage thing! Insia the teenager and her growing up vulnerabilities, her excitement after her first laptop, or first social media upload, her selfish dreams, her exchanges with Chintan (Tirth) and the extremely lovable Guddu (Kabir Sajid) will stay back with me much longer than the otherwise predictable drama!
What will also not stay back is unfortunately the music that should have been the backbone of the film! Meghna Mishra is a great find, but a big problem with the songs is the somewhat weak lyrics, and the accompanying loud music overpowering Meghna's powerful voice in almost all songs! Sad!
In summary, no surprises there in the film from what the trailer suggested. It is a predictable emotional drama with some good performances, and is well timed for the family audience of Diwali! Aamir Khan the producer has certainly cracked the code on how to deliver entertainment for the masses banking on emotions! How I wish Advait Chandan's writing and direction had the power to support him as strongly as well! I felt letdown on the whole!
At his extreme other end is the real superstar, Mr. Aamir Khan, who just delivers a knockout act with the sleazy over the top Shakti Kumarr, who is as cheesy as it can get, but he just lets it all down and makes you literally laugh out loud, every time he is on the screen! Drawing inspirations from Himesh in real life and Taal's Anil Kapoor in reel life, Aamir just blows you away like a rockstar, salute to his versatility in pulling off this after the much nuanced Dangal! I actually stopped over to watch his funny last song, along with the rest of the theatre, and left with a broad smile!
And now lets talk about the Maliks! At the end of it, the story actually revolves around them - this girl called Insia, and the 2 very important characters in her life who have a diametrically opposite influence on her - a mother who is her life, and a father she wishes was dead (and vice versa)! As the parents, I felt that Raj Arjun hits the nail with his Farookh! He lets you hate him without resorting to any over the top exaggerated or loud performance, but is chilling and venomous enough with his speaking eyes, cold gestures and well nuanced act! It is sad then that the mother and the daughter characters are written in a way that is overtly emotional and in fact even somewhat manipulative in the drama to make it a forced tear jerker! I did like Meher Vij in most parts, she looks very honest, tries to deliver honestly as well, but the script does not help her! And it does not help Zaira Wasim too! Frankly, Zaira looks and acts way too much more maturedly than what this character demanded in my opinion, and in the process compromises on the spontaneity of the fifteen year old daughter completely! I could not help but compare with the extremely natural and endearing bond played out by Swara Bhaskar and Ria Shukla as mother daughter in Nil Battey Sannata which felt so much more genuine and heartfelt in that setup! In spite of all the drama and forced emotions here, somewhere this pain does not touch you and that is where I felt the connect missing big time in this film!
Rather than this bond, I found the film doing much more justice in depicting the anxiety, reactions, and everything else that is a teenage thing! Insia the teenager and her growing up vulnerabilities, her excitement after her first laptop, or first social media upload, her selfish dreams, her exchanges with Chintan (Tirth) and the extremely lovable Guddu (Kabir Sajid) will stay back with me much longer than the otherwise predictable drama!
What will also not stay back is unfortunately the music that should have been the backbone of the film! Meghna Mishra is a great find, but a big problem with the songs is the somewhat weak lyrics, and the accompanying loud music overpowering Meghna's powerful voice in almost all songs! Sad!
In summary, no surprises there in the film from what the trailer suggested. It is a predictable emotional drama with some good performances, and is well timed for the family audience of Diwali! Aamir Khan the producer has certainly cracked the code on how to deliver entertainment for the masses banking on emotions! How I wish Advait Chandan's writing and direction had the power to support him as strongly as well! I felt letdown on the whole!
