268. Web-series Reviews – 105

More web-series reviews…

Farzi – Came out in 2023.

One of the reviews from The Hindu...

Raj and DK’s ‘Farzi’ feels more like the work of a magician who repeats his trick on the market’s demand

What happens when an artist crosses the lines of law? What happens when he starts seeing a humble currency note as a challenging work of art? Writer-director duo Raj and D.K. have an uncanny knack for creating charismatic characters grappling with the socio-political realities of our times. Their canvas gets larger than life, but they negotiate it with the detailing of master craftsmen keen on making sense of the zardozi of emotions and ideas with a thread spiked with sharp humour. With  Farzi, they expand the everyman secret agent universe that they created with  The Family Man. The possibilities are delicious... but after eight episodes that provide plenty of goosebumps moments and a lot to chuckle about, the series leaves one with the feeling of being sold a dummy.  

Over the years, Shahid Kapoor excels in roles where the character’s self-esteem is under attack. Here, as the anti-hero Sunny, he remarkably blends brooding intensity with an impish smile in a role that has shades of his real life. Abandoned by his father in childhood, Sunny grows up under the shadow of his righteous maternal grandfather (Amol Palekar) who brings out a newspaper called Kranti Patrika and paints  The Thinker with trembling hands. However, the young artist sees the world around him and pays more for the fakes than the original work. As he observes the tree gradually wilt under a loan and rampant corruption; revolution becomes a retired thought for Sunny. But to save Nanu and his crumbling ideas, the artist crosses over and sells his craft to the highest bidder. As his ego and ambition get the better of him, Sunny gets sucked into a black hole as we get an insight into how a man gets consumed by circumstances.

The narrative is dotted with moral dilemmas that are not easy to negotiate. The emotional track where Sunny fears that his Nanu — whose memory is fading by the day — would discover that he has violated his trust creates an uneasy feeling. The scene where Sunny embraces his Nanu from behind makes the eyes moist. It is the pristine presence of Palekar, who chooses his project with care, that makes us believe in the integrity of the ideological slugfest even when the writers lose track. 

On one hand, there is Michael (Vijay Sethupathi), an unlikely efficient officer fighting personal battles, who is committed to curing the country of the scourge of counterfeit currency, and on the other, there is Mansoor (Kay Kay Menon chews up the scenery with his trademark flourish), a reptilian figure who gives wings to Sunny’s imagination and ambition for his purpose. Sethupathi is suitably understated and charming at the same time; there is a certain endearment in the way he delivers his dialogues in Hindi that even the expletives sound endearing. It creates an interesting contrast between his physical and vocal tonality, and reminds one of Mohanlal who also played a committed law enforcer in  Company. His family story is not even half as riveting as that of Shrikant Tiwari, but Sethupathi ensures that it remains palatable till Michael shares notes with Tiwari in the next season.  

With Shahid, it is the other way round. He comes across as an adorable rascal whose circumstances push him into a cesspool. It is a pity that we don’t get to see a face-off between the two in the first season as the streaming platforms plot to keep the pot burning for a second season, even if it means compromising on storytelling and stagnating the interest. 

In between, there is a staple but well-written track where Sunny infiltrates into the crack team through Megha (Rashii Khanna), an expert on counterfeit currency, who could see through the sham, but fumbles when it comes to matters of the heart. The portion is written in a way that one doesn’t mind suspending disbelief for a while; Rashii is also impressive as a girl who doesn’t get too distracted from her goal by the magic of Sunny.

As always, the action Raj and D.K. universe is interspersed with current affairs and an electric background score. Minister Gahlot’s (Zakir Hussain) urge to link everything with electoral politics is relatable, and the way Michael sells him the idea of a big photo in the newspaper every time the minister drags his feet on issues of national security is risibly realistic.

However, for all the character-building and competent performances, the unpretentious perspective and immersive experience of  The Family Man is missing here as the makers seem keen on underling that we are watching something intelligent and well-researched with a bleeding pen. 

Farzi feels more like the work of a magician who repeats his trick on the market’s demand. The socio-political commentary that was seamless in  The Family Man gets repetitive and even jarring at times here. The screenplay feels like that eye-catching coat with a lining that has not been properly stitched, and gives way during the rough and tumble of eight episodes. There are portions when it seems the writers’ research notes on counterfeit currency have slipped into the script and that we are watching an instruction manual on how to make fake bills unfold on-screen. Curiously, the writers have spent hours in explaining the business of counterfeit currency, but have left the nuts and bolts of the story loose. Some of the twists are too convenient to mass muster, the back stories are not compelling, and an important character is dispensed with without due diligence. This incongruous approach makes  Farzi feel like Sunny’s super note; a sham beneath the shine. 

My Take – An ok series

 

Miss Marple – Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie, starring Joan Hickson in the title role. It aired from 26 December 1984 to 27 December 1992 on BBC1. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels were dramatised. Miss Jane Marple, an aged spinster from the village of St Mary Mead, uses her intuition and knowledge of human nature to solve crimes in 1950s Britain.

One of the analysis from BFI Screenonline...

Despite many attempts over the decades, faithful adaptations of Agatha Christie's sedate Miss Marple stories either for film or TV proved highly elusive, unlike some of those made from the author's more dynamic and densely plotted Poirot adventures. Gracie Fields was the rather unlikely star of a live broadcast of A Murder Is Announced made by CBS in 1956, while Margaret Rutherford's popular cinema incarnation in four 1960s comedy-thrillers strayed far from their literary source.

The late Joan Hickson, however, proved perfectly cast when, at age 78, she took on the role for the BBC. Physically, she brilliantly embodied the shrewd, sharp-eyed, owlish spinster, while also conveying her intuitive acumen and razor-sharp mind. The handsomely mounted, leisurely paced productions closely follow the books, spreading the stories across several episodes, the emphasis placed squarely on atmosphere and design. Although Christie's stories were published over 40 years, the series relocated them all to the late 1940s/early 50s, when Britain was finally getting over the years of post-war austerity.

The first serial was T.R. Bowen's three-part adaptation of The Body in the Library (1984), which opens brilliantly with Dolly Bantree (Gwen Watford) coercing her husband out of bed to see if there really is a corpse in their house. This story also introduced the ever-grumpy Detective Inspector (later Superintendent) Slack (David Horovitch); Marple's nephew, Inspector Craddock (John Castle), would appear in later stories.

A Murder is Announced (1985), adapted by Alan Plater, vividly brings to life the small village of St Mary Mead (actually Nether Wallop, Hampshire), also providing a highly sympathetic role for Joan Sims as a meek lesbian. When the character is murdered, the moment is genuinely upsetting. At Bertram's Hotel (1987), featuring Joan Greenwood as a gossiping old acquaintance of Miss Marple's, has an uncharacteristic action climax in which a villain tries to escape, but also cleverly highlights the trap of easy nostalgia, an accusation that was occasionally levelled at the series.

Although inherently conservative, the twelve novels were intelligently adapted so as to appeal to a broad audience, while remaining essentially true to Christie's original intentions. The last of the Marple mysteries to be filmed was The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side (1992), which appropriately enough reunited Miss Marple, Slack, Craddock and Dolly Bantree to solve a double murder in St Mary Mead.

My Take – An engaging fare😊!!

 

The Romantics – Came out in 2023.  A 4-part Documentary on Yash Raj Films.

One of the reviews from India Today...

'Timeless’ is often a word associated with Yash Raj Films in Hindi cinema. Heroines in luscious fields, colourful and aesthetics backgrounds, poetry-like narrative and handsome heroes changing the meaning of romance is what made director Yash Raj, a legacy, which is now being carried forward by his son, the reclusive Aditya Chopra. The Romantics is a homage, in the truest form, to romance, everything that is today considered a DNA of Hindi cinema worldwide.

LA based filmmaker Smriti Mundra takes a deep dive into the making of Yash Raj, the director, a producer and how Yash Raj Films changed the grammar for Bollywood. Interviewing family friends and stars including the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, the late Rishi Kapoor, among others, Smriti has weaved a very interesting and satisfying document-series which is all hearts. It also marks the TV interview debut for Aditya Chopra, who was considered an enigma for the most part of his career as a filmmaker. His mother, Pamela Chopra, too speaks on camera about Yash Ji and his love for cinema.

The first episode encapsulated the early life of Yash Raj, from being a middle-class boy from Jalandhar, with dreams to change the landscape of Indian cinema. The docu-series, uses various anecdotes and old clipping of the late filmmaker, where he speaks about the lows and the highs he endured during his journey.

There are special anecdotes shared by actors who have worked closely with Yash Raj. From Amitabh Bachchan speaking about Silsila, to Rishi Kapoor speaking about Chandni and Bollywood still reaping the aftereffects of that success, the series is laced with timely humour, nostalgia which stays with you.

The filmmaker has made sure to not leave out the lows faced by YRF, and every decade the studio managed to bounce back after facing subsequent losses. Be it Daag in the 70s, Chandni in 80s, DDLJ in the 90s, and so on.

The second episode really is dedicated to how Aditya Chopra later went on to take the reigns in his hand with Yash Ji being a constant. DDLJ changed the landscape for YRF and for Hindi cinema. We have SRK, Kajol and others speak about how the entire movie came into light. How Yash Raj cinema was ahead of its time. Be it a Lamhe, which may have not done well at the box office but remains one of the most landmark films of all times.

The docu-series captures the dilemma faced by the filmmaker and how they adapted to the changing times. Industry insiders and veteran film journalists spoke about their experience as well.

The docu-series has a very parallel storyline which gives us an insight into the gradual progression of Yash Raj Films. From starting as a small office to Aditya being the brainchild behind making YRF an independent studio. “Imagine sharing the revenue of DDLJ,” Aditya jokes in between the interview, and that is enough to give us an insight into the long-sightedness of the studio which shaped Indian cinema.

It is often said that Yash Raj loved music and poetry and hence, his movies are a reflection of his personal aesthetics. From Kabhie Kabhie to writing empowering female led characters, the series tells us the how, why, and what went behind the making of not just YRF Studios but also the mind behind it.

The four-part series doesn’t get boring at any point, although Uday Chopra could have done better by losing that British accent. It did act as a sour point watching the otherwise brilliantly made documentary. The use of classic and iconic song as a BG adds to the entire viewing experience. Don’t be surprised if you break into singing the verses along while watching. It is very natural to be drawn to the ‘timelessness of the music’ of that era.

The Romantics is also the last televised interview of late Rishi Kapoor.

If you are a Hindi cinema lover, The Romantics is your gateway to know about the romantic world of Yash Raj. The music, the landscape, the stories, the nostalgia, it is a perfect binge-watch show for Valentine's Day.

My take – Worth a definitive watch!

Cheers till next time😊!!