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

Corona Virus ★★

A short film depicting a post-apocalyptic world caused by human activities and Corona pandemic.

Yep, that’s the title! Search Engine friendly, isn’t it? 🙂

Synopsis: This is a very short film of around 7 minutes that follows a survivor on his daily activities in a post-apocalyptic world. The conversation between the survivor and his imaginary friend gives us the backdrop of the story.

What Works: Firstly, I appreciate the crew for bringing out the film in such environment. It would have taken them extra efforts and time in getting this completed. The film feels dark and the morbidity is tangible. There is a social environmental message central to the film which is simple and intriguing. Kudos to the team!

What all could have been much better: There are a few things which I didn’t like in CV. The biggest single drawback for me was mention of a conspiracy theory as a fact. It is acceptable in terms of artistic liberty for a science fiction setup, but in the sensitive times like these, such references could have been avoided to prevent anymore animosity that we already have in the world.

The dialogues are also a let-down. The dialogues fit the purpose of filling in with the background, but sound inorganic and documentary-style. Another minor issue that I felt was on the activities of the survivor. He somehow knows that he will get a wet cloth packed in a plastic bag under the ground. How does he know that? Even if he knew that, he would have perspired more water in digging it out that he was to get. The protagonist also does not look like one suffering from famine – and to me, it is a major flaw. The wardrobe team has merely provided him with a rope on brand new clothes, a cloth hair band; and makeup team put some mud on the face. That just does not work fully. Perhaps I am asking for too much, but these are not tough to arrange – torn cloth, mangled hairs, and may be, someone thin or skinnier to match the role.

But perhaps the idea behind this short film was never the perfection but to catch a believable glimpse of possible future, and for that it does a decent job.

Overall: nothing great. Please skip!

PARENTAL ADVISORY: There is a very short clip at the end depicting cruelty on animals which may not be suitable for all audience, particularly children.

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 2.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~7 minutes
Writer: Dushyant Kapoor
Director:  Dushyant Kapoor
Cast: TBU
Corona Virus: Short which fell short on our expectations

Juice ★★★★★

Winner of two Filmfare awards 2018, Juice is a poignant short film that depicts differential treatment of women in some sections of the society.

Synopsis: The short film depicts a house party among family-friends. The men are chatting and having a good time in the living room with drinks and TV,. The children are playing video games in a different room. All the women, though, are in the kitchen cooking the munchies for the gentlemen outside. These women are from different regions as it shows in the film, but share the common destiny of a single broken table fan in a boiling kitchen. What’s all this to have to do with the title, you ask? A juice? A lot, perhaps…

What works: The film is a must watch, it is really that good. The lead, Shefali Shah also walked away with the best actress award for her performance. Every scene and setup is very authentic. The whole film looks like a scene out of daily life in a Delhi house. If we talk about awards alone, this film won the best short film award in the fiction category in Filmfare awards 2018. And the whole good package ends at even better climax scene with one of the most intriguing facial expressions that I will remember for quite some time.

The dialogues and the screenplay is something which shall be appreciated separately, even if these could not get awarded. This is an overall feminist presentation, and these go over-board with the dramatization and cliches. Juice balances it deftly. It also hints how women themselves think lesser of themselves. It hints how biases are also fueled and supported by submissiveness among women’s social circle.

What is bad: Nothing at all that I could comment on this specific film!

Small note: not particular to feminism or Juice but generally, few presentations (videos, speeches or Whatsapp forwards) charge us emotionally. They color our views. They make us believe (even if for a short period) that everyone on the other side is wrong. That is their job. That is how they will earn and will get viral. Aglaplay strongly advises its viewers to keep themselves free from such emotional on the basis of religion, gender, region, caste, nationality, language, dressing, earning or anything else under the blue sky. Judge a person for who he or she individually is. For Juice, do remember while watching that not all men are alike! There are men at workplaces, in family, in friends who support women and stand for their equality in the society.

Overall: Enjoy Juice, it is a must watch!

AglaPlay Verdict: Must watch
AglaPlay Rating: 5.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~14 minutes
Writer: Neeraj Ghaywan
Director:  Neeraj Ghaywan
Cast: Shefali Shah(Manju Singh), 
Manish P Chaudhari(Brajesh Singh) &
Others
Juice: Relaxation for a moment

Devi ★★★½

A short film with a strong social message with the high-profile actors ensemble.

Synopsis: The short film opens with women from various backgrounds who are confined in a room. It has representations from different classes – an upper-class chic , corporate executive in 30s, medical student, trio of middle-aged and older marathi women, young deaf-mute poor girl, a muslim burka-clad, and of course, the ubiquitous house-wife. What’s the catch? What is it that they share in common? The suspense will be revealed in the first few minutes itself but I would rather not spoil for you.

What works: This high-profile short film has a social message with an impactful climax. The climax is deeply unsettling. The performances from Neena Kulkarni and Yashaswini are particularly lively. Others also perform well. Doing justice to the assigned roles in such short duration was an amazing feat and I can’t point out any lapse from anyone in the cast. Kudos to the director and the whole team.

Also, kudos to Kajol. Having the big star in the short film is two-edged sword. The positive, it gives you an immediate publicity. The negative which happens quite often, is that the star hogs all the screen presence. Kajol in Devi, on the other hand shines not through her stardom but through her acting skills. More than the words and the star as we know her, her eyes reflect the sadness, the voice tone shows frustration at a level which is far ahead than any. Please watch and let us know of what you feel about the actors!

I highly appreciate the dialogue writing which helps such film take up such strong message without using any sensitive or abusive language. Everything in the dialogue is implicit. Enraging and saddening, but without explicit. Great work there!

Negatives: Now is the time to write negatives. Nothing major, but as I have hinted above as well, is the failure of the story to maintain the aura of suspense. In particular, there is a TV anchor who speaks in the first few scenes itself and we believe that was not necessary and gave out too much about story too early. It would be a very different feeling if the crux came out through the characters and their dialogues. Another minor thing is the soap-opera feel of the setup – it pops out as a Balaji production setup in the first look. 🙂

Overall: a good watch and I will recommend it to be watched by everyone. Men, women alike. The topic can be sensitive to young audience, but everything is implicit and hardly any abusive or sensitive words are used, so may be a PG (Parental Guidance) rating here?

AglaPlay Verdict: Worth a watch
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: 12 minutes
Writer: Priyanka Banerjee
Director:  Priyanka Banerjee
Cast: Kajol (house wife), 
Shruti Hassan(chic),
Neha Dhupia (Corporate), 
Shivani Raghuvanshi (Medical Student), 
Neena Kulkarni, Rama Joshi, 
Sandhya Mhatre (three marathi women), 
Yashaswini Dayama (deaf-mute), 
Mukta Barve (Burka-clad muslim) &
Others
Devi