373. Web-series Reviews – 188

More web-series reviews…

Angry Young Men – Came out in 2024.  A documentary telling the story behind the formidable writer duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar.

A review from IMDB...

Indian films particularly Hindi ones had a great fan following in 1970s and early 1980s. Amongst other factors one of the biggest factors was the phenomenon of AMITABH BACHCHAN and of course SALIM-JAVED-the creators of his "ANGRY YOUNG MAN" image. A film credits saying WRITTEN BY SALIM-JAVED for close to 1.5 decade meant that the film will be dollops of larger-than-life entertainment, dramatic scenes and paisa vasool dialogues. To be fair to the legendary duo they also tackled lost and found, romantic, serious and comedy scenes very well, but it was their angry young man discovery became their ticket to Bollywood history.

Amazon Primes 3 episodic documentary "Angry Young Men" directed by film editor Namrata Rao is a well-made tribute to the brilliant and most popular Hindi film writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. The series is jointly produced by the companies of their sons Salman Khans S. K. Films as well as Farhan Akhtar's Excel entertainment and is a homage to their amazing journey. The series covers a series of interviews of the duo, their families, and inputs by Amitabh Bachchan, Ramesh Sippy, Yash Chopra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Dharmendra, Aamir Khan, Prem Chopra, Raj Kumar Hirani, Shatrughan Sinha, Yash amongst lot of others. It starts with their childhood, their struggle, their initial individual works, their success, their peak, their arrogance, their fall, their redemption, their breakup and finally their lives as of now.

The show is full on nostalgia, many known facts, some unknown incidents, and re-creates the magic of their blockbusters particularly Deewaar, Sholay, Zanjeer and Don. The failure of Imaan Dharam also is covered very well. The starting animations mixing characters and situations from their films is excellent!! The painful memories of personal loss and financial low by Salim Khan and Javed bring a lump to their fans.

However, there is flip side too, as one feels that there should be 1-2 episode more to discuss more about their other films -Trishul, Shakti, Kaala Pathar, Kranti, etc. Also, total ignorance of films like Majboor and the grand finale Mr. India was surprising. I felt the makers should have touched the success they got after their separation Salim Khan in Naam and Javed in Arjun, Betaab, Meri Jung and later as legendary lyricist. As die-hard fans of the duo who have read a lot about them in last many decades will feel "Hey its good but we already knew most about them already"!

Having said that I cannot deny that I fully loved the series for a celebration of a golden phase of Hindi cinema and for the duo who proved for long that "A film without a good script will fall flat"!!!!

My Take – A delightful watch!

 

Manorathangal – Came out in 2024.  An anthology of nine featurettes based on a curated selection of short stories by the celebrated Malayalam writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

A review from IMDB...

An adaptation from the novel written by Padma Bhushan Sri. M T Vasudevan Nair,the greatest literary wizard Indian Cinema has seen. The idea of this anthology movie was conceived by Priyadarshan and brought to light by 8 veteran directors including Priyadarshan, Ranjith, Jayaraj, Shyamaprasad, Santosh Sivan, Rathish Ambat, Mahesh Narayanan and one movie by Aswathy V Nair, MT's daughter as her debut directorial.

All the short stories starts with a preface note from the Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan. All the directors has portrayed and given life to the characters on screen without losing the soul of the story the great writer has conceived. The short stories penned by the writer and the subjects he has chosen for them is timeless.

The short stories starts with a soothing intro song composed by M Jayachandran in our humming bird Chitra's voice.

*Olavum Theeravum by Priyadarshan*

A tale of love amidst the river bank .The story portrays how one can use other people for their convenience and ignore them when they find a better caregiver. Priyan reflects on hatred, love, betrayal, cunningness, exploitation and humiliation in the movie. Notable performances by Mohanlal, Hareesh Peradi & Surabhi Lakshmi. It was heartwarming to see Mamukoya on screen through this posthumous release. Impressive camera shots by Santosh Sivan.

A good story that shows the cunning and crooked human nature for their own benefit and survival.

Rating - 3.5/5

*Kadugannava Oru Yathra Kurippu by Ranjith*

A short story portraying the travel of a middle aged man in search for his step sister from an illicit relationship his father had in Ceylon during his official trip and recollecting the childhood memories he had about her during his travel to Kadugannava. Impressive performances by Megastar,Vineeth & Anumol.

Ranjith has conveyed the deep inner emotions and concern he had in his heart for his sister through Mammootty's character.

Rating - 3.75/5

*Kaazhcha by Shyamaprasad*

This short story puts light onto a shaken marriage relationship of the heroine character with her husband and the societies and families outlook on the way she selflessly dealts with her relationship issues.

Shyamaprasad portrays the movie on the backdrop of music and shows the passion the heroine has for music.

Subtle delivery by Parvathy Thiruvothu as an independent strong women and notable performance by Harish Uthaman.

He also shows justice to the novel by showcasing the existence of strong and selfmade women in those times.

Rating - 3.25/5

*Shilalikhitham by Priyadarshan*

The plot of the story reflects on the dyeing relationships over age and the social status factor confining to one's own selfish needs and wants without any concern.

Priyan has portrayed Biju Menon in a characterisation arc were he goes in search for a historical evidence collection with regard to his work but brings him into the realisation that he has forgotten his roots and the importance of family relations over the hunt for wealth.

Rating - 3/5

*Vilppana by Aswathy V Nair*

The debut directorial by Aswathy V Nair through this short story portrays a middle aged married woman feeling lost and dejected in her life in thirst for a good company.

Aswathy's inexperience is visible through the way she handled the screenplay making the audience lethargic and disinterested in few areas with a long time duration.

Madhubala's portrayal seems to be mechanical though Asif performed well in the movie.

Rating - 2.75/5

*Sherlock by Mahesh Narayanan*

The story revolves around a cat named Sherlock and a new guest who has joined his family in America.

Mahesh has portrayed FaFaa as a weak character who is not comfortable with cats but how he tries to get rid of the cat from the house crookedly forms the storyline.

Mahesh has tried to make the story narrative interesting but couldn't keep the audience completely hooked to the movie as he does in his full length commercial films.

FaFaa's performance couldn't elevate the story as a whole. The long time duration makes this short story just a one time watch.

Rating - 3/5

*Kadalkkaattu by Rathish Ambat*

Rathish has portrayed the life of a working man who balances his family and an illicit relationship in his workplace away from home.

Rathish has given a good character to Aparna Balamurali as a lovable and caring wife and she has made a subtle delivery of the role.

Indrajith has portrayed the character convincingly and the moments he feels guilty was shown brilliantly by Rathish Ambat indirect references.

Rating - 3.25/5

*Abhayam Thedi Veendum by Santosh Sivan*

The entire movie could have carried by the versatile actor Siddique alone but Santosh couldn't convince what he was trying to convey through the story.

The movie may get critical acclamation but not convincing to normal audience.

Felt like he has treated the subject like an offbeat movie he has done earlier.

Rating - 2/5

*Swargam Turakkunna Samayam by Jayaraj*

Jayaraj holds true to the typical value oriented movies in this anthology series as well. It was heard in a promotional drive that Jayaraj was given a privilege to choose from among the 9 short stories by MT and he had rightly chosen this.

The movie reflects on the age old custom beliefs like an ideal time for death of a person.

It was delightful and heart warming to see Nedumudy Venu in one of his final performance through this posthumous release.

Jayaraj has conveyed the selfish and greedy attitude of humans over family relationships in the movie through various moments.

A close resemblance to Anjali Menon's Manjadikkuru was felt in few areas of the story. Good performances by Indrans,Renji Panicker & Surabhi Lakshmi.

Rating - 3.25/5.

My Take - a Slow, but worth a watch!

 

Rizzoli & Isles – Ran from 2010-2016. Boston's assertive detective Jane Rizzoli and steady medical examiner Maura Isles are hailing from very different economic backgrounds, but the strong, competent women effectively work together to solve the city's most puzzling crimes.

A review from IMDB...

I've always liked this show - and am glad it's being repeated now on independent stations. When Angie Harmon starred on Law & Order, her character's pushiness and arrogance, her deep rasping voice and model's gait - really put me off. But on this show, the actress, playing the two lead detective, Rizzoli, has grown on me - her character is given a family background, allowed to show a variety of emotions, and Harmon has simply become a much better actress than years ago.

I really liked Sasha Alexander, who plays the other lead character, pathologist Isles, when she starred on NCIS and was very disappointed when she left the program (after its first year?). She's utterly charming, obviously bright (good as very necessary for this character!)

The plots are not ones you'll want to rewind to see how the complex pieces fell into place (this isn't Columbo) but they are involving enough to carry forward the narratives of the shows.

The supporting characters are well-enough written - though the humor is often hokey.

The warmth of the ensemble is very noticeable - one senses not only that the characters are supposed to like each other - but that the actors really do. It's a strange thing to say that a police detective show is heartwarming - yet this is.

As one comes to like the characters more and more, it's their back stories and their concurrent personal stories that make this a very welcome watch.

There's nothing BIG about the series - it's modest, light, and has its own charm and warmth. I really like it.

My Take – Worth a watch. Completed 1 full season. Ignored the rest😊!

Adios till next time😊!