Category: Online

Half Full ★★★½

Abhay is anxiously waiting for something when a stranger knocks at his door on a rainy night.

The short film starts with a stranger knocking on protagonist (Abhay) door. The stranger’s car has broken down amidst the heavy rains. Abhay, meanwhile, was desperately waiting for something to happen and was repeatedly looking at the wall clock before this stranger comes. The two end up discussing the things which are bothering Abhay. The short ends has a shocking revelation about the stranger.

First of all, the acting is very good. Especially from Vikrant Massey (Chhapak fame). He has performed extremely well, and holds his own in presence of the legend Naseerudin Shah.

Then comes the direction. The audience connect to Abhay and his feelings, without any specifics provided at all. We personally like the short films which talk of hardships and challenges that people face everyday. Abhay is also stuck, like so many of us. His so few words reflect the feelings of so many. Director Karan has taken few artistic liberties to dramatize the situation to the worst, but if you will just pause and see through, you will see conundrums, the hopes and the challenges you and I face everyday. Anyways, let’s move on to the negatives.

First on the negative is that the short is available on Zee5 only. That means paid subscriptions for those who do not have it. We will come with a short article later on availing best offers to get Zee5, but that is for later. The second minor short coming of the movie is the end which may not be liked or accepted by everyone.

Overall, it is a good one and we at Aglaplay recommend a watch!

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~10 minutes
Writer:  Karan Rawal 
Director: Karan Rawal
Cast: Vikrant Massey (Abhay), 
Naseeruddin Shah (Stranger)

Link: https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/half-full

Bin Bulaaye ★★½

Award winning short about a daughter longing for her father amidst the challenges that life throws at her.

The short film is about a young girl who is living in the house of her father. Her father, seemingly a poet, is no more but his memories remain through his words and more. The house is visited by a cook and, the unannounced guests who keep coming over to the place. The story is told through interactions of these characters and the poetic words, which are narrated by Naseeruddin Shah.

Let me spill out one spoiler now itself. Naseeruddin Shah is only present as the voice-over. Sorry, but as you will see, it was not really a spoiler. The narration of Naseerudin Shah is very soothing and done well. I have seen him performing without mics. Mr Shah moves the audience merely with the oratory skills, the acting comes second.

Pardon me, I deviated. Coming to movie at hand, the best part is its simplicity. There is nothing complex about the inter-relations or the treatment. No scene has been exaggerated or overloaded with heavy musics and paraphernalia. It is a simple life, flowing as it does with its own crests and troughs. That actually also becomes its negative, though. Please read on.

The film is too simplistic with nothing much to offer to the audience. The end seems out of place from the rest of the story. The short film was awarded by MAMI awards 2019 (Mumbai Academy of Moving Images) which may be because of the effect of the star-cast. But I will be able to comment on that only after watching other nominations.

Overall, it is nothing great and you may skip this one. 

AglaPlay Verdict: Average
AglaPlay Rating: 2.5/5
Language: Hindi/English
Duration: ~19 minutes
Writer: Debasmita Dasgupta, 
Anshul Tiwari (based on short story
written by Madhumita Dasgupta)
Director:  Anshul Tiwari
Cast: Ira Dubey (protagonist),
Jhuma Biswas (maid),
Arfi Lamba,
Dilshad Patel &
Naseerudin Shah (Voice over / Poet-Father)

Watch now!

Kriti ★★★½

Manoj Vajpayee and Radhika Apte starrer psychological thriller which keeps audience on edge.

Synopsis: Sapan is schizophrenic. He pays regular visits to her psychiatrist, who is trying to help Sapan both in the capacity of a doctor and a friend. Kriti is Sapan’s live-in partner. She is a mystery to the psychiatrist, and also to Sapan. Kirit has her own psychological disorders, and suffers severely from agoraphobia. The film unfolds the dark secrets and explores morbid twists of psychological issues among the trio.

What works: The film Kriti is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller. The film manages to keep audience on the hook about what would happen next. The short film is also a proof that one doesn’t need full feature length for creating great stories. An experienced and talented star-cast also helps. The performances are good. Manoj Vajpayee particularly has delivered a splendid schizophrenic Sapan. Neha Sharma, Radhika Apte and Manu Rishi all fit the role well.

Negatives: Nothing from the film per se, except that it may be dark and unsettling for those who do not like the genre. Period. However…

One negative for me was the ‘inspiration’ Writer-Director-Prodcuer Sirish Kunder takes from the original Bob without giving due credit to original source material. Seemingly, the film is inspired from Nepalese short film Bob. Sirish has also vocally pretested against these allegations. To be fair, Kriti goes much farther in the story-line and the twists; but I see some merit in the plagiarism claims. Some of the scenes, the theme, and especially the doctor-patient discussions seem copied-pasted from Bob. Such attempts demotivate the hard working lower budget counterparts and would be highly detrimental for further expanse of the creative works. One relevant article is here.

AglaPlay Verdict: A good psychological thriller
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~17 minutes
Writer: Sirish Kunder
Director:  Sirish Kunder
Cast: Manoj Vajpayee (Sapan),
Radhika Apte (Psychiatrist),
Neha Sharma (Kriti) &
Others

Watch now!

Tindey ★★★★½

A hot and sweet take on extra-marital misadventures of a man in his 40s.

Synopsis

This film is about the misadventures of a middle aged man, Kranti. A faithful husband, Kranti somehow gets lured into exploring dating app Tinder Tindey by his colleague. On the other end of the app is a suave, hip gal in her 20s, Molly. Somehow, the chemistry clicks and…. well… I will hold the synopsis here. Saying anything extra may just ruin it a bit for you because this one, is hilarious.

What works

This one is an absolute must watch. The theme which seems so generic has twists and turns which are done very different than other attempts on similar topics. At least, the ones I have watched or read. Tindey strikes just the right balance between comedy, emotions, dialogues, presentation – just everything seems perfect about this one! The short duration format also helps Tindey, as the full length feature films fall in the issues of extended emotional scenes (and songs). Tindey perhaps is able to maintain the balance because there was not much time… Perhaps!

On acting front, the leads have done a tremendous job, but any review would be incomplete without praising Ashwini Kalsekar (Mrs. Kranti). From the first scene to the closure, she is just splendid. Great job there!

What could have been better:

None.

Verdict

Must watch. Except for references to online dating format and the usage of app by married people, the film is suitable for all age groups subject to viewers discretion.

AglaPlay Verdict: Must watch
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~20 minutes
Writer: Seemaa Desai
Director:  Seemaa Desai
Cast: Rajesh Sharma,
Ashwini Kalsekar,
Adah Sharma,
Mukesh Bhatt,
Abhishek Khanna

Watch now!

Chutney ★★★★½

A conversation between two neighbors – little sweet, little spicy – just like a Chutney.

The opening scene is of a party in a township where we quickly meet the two central characters – Rasika and Vanita. Pretty and hip Rasika is making fun of the boring housewife Vanita. Next twist? Rasika is having an affair with Vanita’s husband! Vanita invites Rasika to her home next afternoon for sharing her secret recipe. Over the snacks, Vanita confides in Rasika. Vanita shares few memories from her past, some sweet some spicy, but tasty just like a well-made chutney!

Vanita’s story is the strongest pillar in this film. The story is inspired by writings of famed writer Bhishm Sahni. It has a strong punch! The deliberate ambiguities also make it for a decent repeat watch, or when you show it to someone else in your friends and families. I am going to watch it again for sure!

Minor Spoiler Alert. Better to read after watching. Click to read The story has deeper sub-contexts. For example, Vanita’s story succeeds not only in threatening Rasika but also her misbehaving servant. The direction and the story not only brings out Vanita’s frustration in the open, but also her jealous nature and desire for her brother-in-law, which is just so subtly shown. All this makes Chutney a must watch! Let us know if you also find something!

Tisca Chopra in the role of Vanita deserves applauds. She is so believable in the role of a blunt dull housewife. All other actors also perform well.

Negatives? Nothing that I could complain about!

AglaPlay Verdict: Must watch
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~17 minutes
Writer: Tisca Chopra, Jyoti Kapur Das, 
Avneesh Mishra
Director:  Jyoti Kapur Das
Cast: Tisca Chopra (Vanita),
Rasika Dugal (Rasika) &
Others
Chutney: Little Spicy, Little Sweet