#SCSuggests - Quarantine "Boredom" Saviour

There are only a handful of movies which released in OTT only platform since lockdown. Even lesser are the good ones. From Pataal Lok in May to last month's Krishna and his Leela, it'll take more than 10 days for next big OTT release Dil Bechara. Till then here are a few movies and web series we recommend you to watch.

Movies

Luck by Chance

Zoya Akhtar is one of the most admirable auteurs of new-age Bollywood as the genres she blends with elan - a slice of life® and fantasy®, which are, in a way on the opposite lines of storytelling. The ease with which she masters this act is that it always feels lighter on tone yet accurately heavier on its message.  Luck by Chance, the debut film of Zoya, nails this treatment more than any of her further movies (where either lighter tone dominates (Dil Dhadakne Do, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) or the heavier messaging (Gully boy®)).

This is a film about making films (or rather how one is made in an industry like Bollywood), released in 2009, is certainly grounded and relevant even to the current scenarios. It grapples with the notions of nepotism© ( thankfully considerate of showing both sides of the coin ), outsider’s struggle for a chance, heavy competition – both in and out of the industry (the conceptualization of the song sapno se bhare naina masterfully drives this point), producers like Romy Rolly’s(played by the adorable Rishi Kapoor) demand for commercially acclaimed 200crfilm®, the turmoil of writers (like Anurag Kashyap. Yes, he is there! I even heard the word Mani Ratnam in this film), costume designers, cameramen and even the lightmen and chaiwala aren’t spared out of the frame. The keen observation of the industry and magical choreography of the cosmo in which it is set in is the best part. Look out for opening credits and the scenes where Zaffar Khan (Hrithik Roshan) and Karan Johar®(playing himself) converse on Vikram’s ( Farhan Akhtar) find by the producer Romy Rolly as a newcomer to a superstar overnight. That scene, along with many more, shows that the movie is being made smart, cheeky, mature and very much thoughtful. Luck by Chance definitely deserves your watch for at least it’s dry wit, all-round characters with the ensemble casting and the way it takes to into its world.

It is available on Netflix and Prime Video.    

Andy Murray: Resurfacing

Tennis is a rich man’s sport. At least to me, it’s rich of the cinematic close-up and high-speed shots a person can take a short story out of it. This is what mostly is seen in ads of tennis in action – players endorsing Tissot®watches  etc. with the adrenaline rush in their gameplay. But the docu-drama Andy Murray: Resurfacing shows the struggle, gain and unforeseen loss behind that action, behind that swift moment of legs, behind that ultra slo-mo of the ball hitting the racket.

Andy Murray, the World No.1®Male Tennis player, a British Sportsperson, is left with a sore hip on Jan 2018 after ( or even in the midst of) his Wimbledon match. He takes a sabbatical as his body won't support even if his mind would. This is where we, as an audience, start closely following his life, his recovery from the injury. The footages we see being captured show the grit and strife of Andy Murray to step back in the arena with his tennis racket and most importantly with all his energy and action. The attempts to accomplish former happen, but it’s always the latter which misses as he limps halfway through the international matches, embarrassingly (for a World No.1 of course) as his hip again starts feeling sore as soon as he power drills it in his match. There is a loss of instinctive play, a connection between mind a body. We see him crying before going to bed after 8hr long day of tennis, on camera, saying “ I’m tired of being in this state where my mind is supporting me to play more tennis but my body cannot take it anymore”. We even get a touch of his sense of humour, a peek into his family man life, the camaraderie with his coach and trainers. Therein comes a slow revelation, a slow creep up in motif and the old Murray that we’re eager to see and when its Resurfacing, all that you do is watch him play with the aggression in his good-old-days© game and the satisfaction you can see on his eyes is unmatched.

Docu Dramas can be exhausting sometimes for its style of creation and content ( which cannot be judged but can just be accepted), but trust me this one pays off well for the exhaustion. The movie is available on Prime Video. 

Also Read - Vintage Directors at their best 

Visaranai and Drisyam

The reason I’m recommending these both movies at a time is there are startling similarities in ideologies and differences in approach, which I just found out recently.

Vetrimaran’s Visaranai (India’s official submission to Oscars© in 2015. No offence to any Baahubali The Beginning® fans out there, who celebrated its 5 yr anniversary yesterday.) is ardent and atavistically honest on #policebrutality. The topic which has seen the limelight® recently. Vetrimaran’s verisimilitude in showcasing the immigrants getting suppressed and thrashed (like sacrificial lambs) for unknown reasons melts down tears in your heart. The movie expects both his characters and audience, not to be weak-hearted. No! You are very politely requested not to watch this flick if you cannot see the skin vibrate and get reddish when a man gets smashed with a ripe palm thrash. But, this is only half the info that can be given ( like “Spoilers Ahead” at the start of a video). The other half of the gritty reality (which Vetrimaran skilfully builts) can only be witnessed when we watch the entire movie. Vetrimaran’s team never chose this movie to only showcase physically the #policebrutality, but also metaphorically and figuratively show this heinous acts, which will get engraved in you as he literally rubs salt into your wounded heart. You can anticipate how well this movie was made when you hear the fact that Visaranai was unanimously elected for the Oscars© Submission. The movie is available on Netflix and its Telugu dub version Vicharana is available on Youtube.

 

Drisyam on the other hand show’s how a middle-class family man can or did escape this act with all his intelligence and might of being a 4th class pass out (thanks to Movies). The most favourite version of this will be the Venkatesh’s one for me. The Telugu version is neither high nor low on any emotion, it’s important just on the right note. Rambabu’s (easily and carefully played by Venkatesh) family is the perfect warm family we all have and wish for. The comedy generated is apt, both for introducing the characters and the map of the world Rambabu lives in. The biggest strength of this movie will be its relativity and natural connect to us as it exponentially gets organic scene by scene and moves to a next level when the song Pratiroju Panduga Roje (transl. Every day is a festival) plays, thanks to its picturization and lovable music by Sharreth. This build-up is used for the post-conflict series of event. That’s when the writer-director strikes the iron when it’s hot®(a lame punned reference to the movie itself). Venkatesh’s stable reactions when his family starts falling apart inside shows again the right note on which his performance is etched. Even the last scene in the movie where he is unhindered confessing, you can literally see he is never guilty and rather accepting of the solution to the problem he has unapologetically come out of. It’s rare to find a movie which is homely and pleasing for the universal audience but never sugar-coated and easy on its thinking. The movie is available on Sun Nxt and MX Player.

Also Read - Krishna and his Leela OTT review

Web Series

Chernobyl

The HBO® miniseries about the post-apocalyptic Chernobyl disaster is a master class in transcending the details and reality into the world of “film”-making (its literal mention here). The detailing is extraordinary, the authenticity in every craft is unmatchable and the events which get portrayed over an episode with an average of 1hr are chilling. The prime importance here is given to your involvement and understanding of the humans and the situation of Chernobyl. The episodes are heart-wrenching at times for its very abstract portrayal of a Worst Case Scenario®. The team even turns the sound of a dosimeter® buzzing to give you gooseflesh and also uses a series of montage and poetically mapped and staged imagery® for subconsciously seeping its idea into your mind. “What is the cost of too many lies? Is it the Truth? Or maybe the cost is the unrecognizable mindset which one clutches as one cannot identify the truth?”, the series starts off with this dialogue and ends justifying it the most satisfying manner. Watch Chernobyl for its commitment and the promising quality of storytelling it has given rise to. It is available on Disney+Hotstar.