FILM: Fugly
Cast: Jimmy Sheirgill, Mohit Marwah, Kiara Advani, Vijendra Singh, Arfi Lamba
DIRECTOR: Kabir Sadanand
Rating: ****
Let’s first get the picture right.
Contrary to what the trailers and promotional images suggest, “Fugly” is not a ‘Fukrey’-friendly flick about four friends having a ball in life. This film means business.
Light on top and substantial underneath, this is the “Rang De Basanti” of the post-Narendra Modi era. Thoughtful and at times brilliant, it tells us a great deal about the state of a culture and people searching for reasons to keep the spirit of nationalism alive as self-serving corruption grows all around.
“Fugly” is the cinema of social awakening. It tackles issues such as gay prostitution, khaki-clad fascism and the excess of television journalism, perhaps cramming in too many social issues in order to make the subject relevant and resonant. And yet nowhere does the director seem to bite into more than he can chew.
In one of the many striking sequences that coil themselves around the four young lives with impetuous intensity, we see random images of people on the city streets misbehaving mostly with women.
Milind Joga’s camera seems to move concernedly through the streets of Delhi and Gurgaon in search of answers for the moral bankruptcy around us.
This then, is the portrait of a nation grappling with damnation as seen through the eyes of four impetuous youngsters. The actors get it right from the word go. Right away, let’s applaud the director for giving us four bright newcomers, two of whom are natural born stars.
I came away with many memorable scenes in the film. One in particular where Devi’s (Kiara Advani) three male friends try to wash the abusive word ‘bitch’ off her residential door was deeply moving.
Sadanand accompanies the quartet of protagonists’ journey with wallops of whimsy and irony. He could have avoided making light of the situation when there is no room for levity in the narration.
The film frequently suffers from mood swings.
One minute we see the protagonists trapped in an eerie cat-and-mouse game with the diabolic cop Chautala (Jimmy Sheirgill, suitably sinister and characteristically outstanding). The next minute we see Vijender Singh’s character of a pampered and arrogant son of a Haryanvi politician doing a comic cat-and-mouse skit with income-tax officers, who have come to raid his father’s premises.
Erratic and over emphatic at times, what works for the narrative is its supremely active heart and soul. The large chunk of the film when Devi gets sexually humiliated by the neighbourhood grocer and her friends’ outrage leading to unforeseen tragedy, is exceptionally even in tone and sure handed in execution.
But then, various debauched politicians and corrupt elements show up to mess up our protagonists’ lives. And with them comes irrelevant diversions like an item number performed by Sana Saeed.
Everyone including the bit actor Rajveer Ahuja, who plays Jimmy’s subordinate, and Praveen Singh Sisodia as the lecherous grocer, is effective and potent. So is the film, if you ask me.
Sadanand keeps the proceedings believable and aesthetic.
The ending will shock and move audiences.
Two of the actors Mohit Marwah and Kiara Advani are star material. Their on screen relationship remains undefined, unpunctuated by the mandatory item song. This film possesses a very rare virtue. A conscience. (IANS movie review)
FILM: How To Train Your Dragon 2
VOICEovers: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Ame rica Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou and Kit Harington
DIRECTOR: Dean DeBlois
RATING: ***1/2
Packed with an energetic and morally complex drama, writer-director Dean DeBlois’ “How To Train Your Dragon 2” is an animated, inspiring, coming-of-age, fantasy film that offers wholesome entertainment with its technical brilliance.
The film begins with a riotous aerial sport that seems to be a blend of Quidditch and pod-racing in the Viking village of Berk, five years from the events of the 2010 released edition of the film.
Berk is still controlled by the warrior chief, Stoick (Gerard Butler) and all is harmonious in the village with the dragons and humans living amicably.
The once awkward teen Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) has now bloomed into a sprightly young man, ready to succeed his father. But, he spends every free moment with his dragon companion, Toothless, away from his tribe, exploring his surroundings just because he is unsure of who he is or where he belongs. He does this because he feels that as a peace-loving guy, he sticks out like a sore thumb among the Vikings.
On one such expedition, accompanied by his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera), he stumbles upon a dragon trapper Eret (Kit Harrington), who claims to be working for a man named Drago (Djimon Hounsou), who’s building an army of dragons for war.
Surprised with this revelation, he reports to his father – “Let us talk to Drago and avoid a war. We will make the world a better and a safer place.”
But his father’s instructions – “Prepare for war. No talking to Drago for we must protect our own” – makes him unhappy.
So he ventures on his own to request Eret to introduce him to Drago and this leads him to some long-lost secrets which unravel a world beyond his dreams.
The action-packed script captures the imagination from all angles, painting a proper saga of conflicting ideologies against a visually exciting backdrop. The unexpected twists, the rousing action coupled with convincing humour and emotionally affecting consequences are the highlights of the film that pad up the artistry and action.
The comic relief comes from Hiccup and Astrid’s pals in the form of the love-quadrangle between Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), the Viking boys Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Snoutlout (Jonah Hill) and Eret, whose biceps Ruffnut takes a fancy to.
The progression of the narration at times is layered with heavy expository dialogues which are attractively rendered by the star-studded cast. Each character is given their moment to shine. Two new voices have been added in this film. They are of Cate Blanchett as Valka, Hiccup’s mother and of Djimon Hounsou as Drago. They both justify their presence with their precisely and powerfully delivered lines.
The production designs by Pierre-Olivier Vincent are worth a mention. The Vikings, the dragons and the setting are colourful and exciting. Great pains have been taken in the detailing of every frame especially during a scene when the two Godzilla-like “King of Dragons” Alpha present themselves.
What adds to the viewing experience are the well-choreographed aerial action pieces, the 3D effects and the striking folksy background score provided by John Powell.
Based on the “How To Train Your Dragon” book series by Cres sida Cowell, this film enthralls kids and adults alike. (IANS movie review)