India Masala
Bollywood and culture in an emerging India
Dasvidaniya: A bittersweet slice of middle-class life
If you were expecting Vinay Pathak’s latest film to be a comic caper, you are in for a surprise.
“Dasvidaniya” is a bittersweet comedy about a man diagnosed with cancer and how he spends the last three months of his life.
Heard that one before? It’s a subject Bollywood has dealt with in films like “Anand” and “Kal Ho Naa Ho”. The 2007 Hollywood film “The Bucket List” also had a similar storyline.
But Shashant Shah’s “Dasvidaniya” gives the plot some original twists. The film is the story of Amar Kaul, a 37-year-old timid and lonely bachelor living out a humdrum middle-class existence in a Mumbai suburb.
Roadside Romeo — Doggy tale gone wrong
When you find the villain of the film more endearing than the hero and even 90 minutes seem like a lifetime, there has to be something wrong with the film.
That’s right. Charlie Anna, the heavy, farting and bespectacled bulldog with a south Indian accent, who throws a spanner in Romeo’s plans, is way more entertaining and funny than the protagonist of Roadside Romeo
The Last Lear: Not Bachchan’s best but watch it for the performances
There has been so much controversy about the release of “The Last Lear” that it’s easy to overlook this is a film that has been well received in the international festival circuit, has some of India’s best known actors and has even been touted as Amitabh Bachchan’s finest work yet.
Honestly, I don’t agree with that last statement — but then people are entitled to their own opinion.
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The Wall
