ASHOK’S FIVE reviews for all things online

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch Todd Phillips’s #Joker– this is the origin story of batman’s nemesis and is dark, gloomy and disturbing but with an Oscar-worthy performance from Joaquin Phoenix. This is the story of Arthur Fleck, a loser and a loner in Gotham city with a neurological disorder that prompts him to laugh maniacally without reason and how his aspirations to become a stand-up comic pivot to tragedy and pull him down in a downward spiral. He lives with his mother Penny (Frances Conroy), is delusional about a single mom neighbour and is obsessed with the cheery TV host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro in a cameo). I think the team got carried away with the sublime pathos of the Joker’s story and as a result, the film is centred solely around the one individual delivering a riveting performance. The influence of Martin Scorsese’s work has a profound influence here especially films like Taxi Driver and The king of comedy. However, the problem seems to be a very serious

Remember opening up the Matryoshka doll ensemble and discovering smaller and smaller versions inside? How delightful? What if the dolls inside were different and each one could sing and dance its own story as you unravel them one by one? ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch #Paatallok now streaming on #Amazon prime that has been buzzing on the OTT circuit ever since the release of the trailer. Created by Sudip Sharma (Players, NH10 and Udta Punjab) and produced by Anushka Sharma’s Clean Slate films, Pataal Lok tells the story of the three societies that are nestled within each other – the Swarg lok for the privileged and represented by Sanjeev Mehra the media face, the dharti lok represented by Delhi police official Hathi Ram Chaudhary and the patal lok where villains like Hathoda Tyagi thrive. The series is the story of a typical Delhi cop, Hathi Ram, who lands a high-profile case and goes about the investigation with utmost diligence, only to run into the classic red tape, of

Don’t have time to watch a full-length feature or sit through multiple episodes of a web series? ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch “TUNGRUS” a short film that is only 12.36 minutes! Believe it or not, this film has won awards at 40 festivals worldwide including Hot Docs, BFI London Film Festival and now the Slam Dance festival that qualifies it for the Oscars! Rishi Chandna’s film is a tragi-comedy that shows a family dealing with an absurd situation when they adopt a chicken as a pet, and this leads to utter chaos in the household that is funny, ridiculous, irritating and sad. The film is on YouTube, but you can watch it on the official site at https://www.tungrus.com/watch/ 1.        “Tungrus” stands out for the manner in which the drama is toned down and this is the signature style all through. Rishi lets the audience decide what emotion to dial up even as Mr Bharde narrates the story sitting in his Santa-Cruz apartment in that very matter-fact Bombay-Hindi slang. In t

Is the weekend whizzing past and you want to indulge in a breezy watch that leaves you feeling positive without exercising too much thought? ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch “The Lift Boy”, a simple sweet film that the London Indian Film Festival described as “a heart-warming entertainer”. Now streaming on Netflix, this is a pleasing watch and despite a few short-comings does its bit to make you smile. It is the story of Raju, who replaces his father as the lift boy in a residential building and how his life changes as a result of the various encounters he has. 1.        “The Lift Boy” is a novel plot that manages to narrate some truths regarding class struggles, cultural divide and growth aspiration. It is the coming-of-age story of an aspiring engineer Raju. Owing to his dad’s heart attack, he is forced to replace him as the lift boy at Galaxy apartments and amidst the ups and downs of the lift, he finds support, meaning and purpose for life. The portrait of the lollipop on t

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch “The Raikar Case” now streaming on Voot. This is a middling whodunit spread across seven episodes and is set in Goa. The youngest member of the Naik Raikar family, 16-year-old Tarun Zachary Naik falls to his death off a cliff and it turns out that every member of the family has a motive to kill. How SP John Pereira steps in to solve this murder is the crux of the story. At best a Sunday afternoon lazy watch, it has its high points but meanders into mediocrity at times. 1. Director Aditya Sarpotdar attempts something innovative and you do get to notice how each well-paced episode commences with a new angle and ends on a cliff-hanger. This sets up an interesting point of view much like the Rashomon technique where each scene offers a potentially different possibility. However, this is not sustained, and the series becomes a tad too predictable and as a consequence, the big reveal fizzles out. 2. The cast includes Atul Kulkarni, Neil Bhoopalam, Ashvini Bha

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch a contemporary cult classic “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro” (JBDY), Kundan Shah’s directorial debut released in 1983 and featuring a stellar star cast comprising Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Kapur, Satish Kaushik and Satish Shah. Initially dismissed as a flop, the film went on to become a cult for its non-stop riot of humour and deeper overtones of satire with regard to the politician-businessman nexus that is the bane of the common man. JBDY is the story of two young men, Vinod (Naseer) and Sudhir (Ravi Baswani) who open a studio and struggle to make ends meet till they are persuaded by a fiery woman journalist to be part of an investigation into the nexus between the builders Tarneja (Pankaj Kapur) and Ahuja (Om Puri) who are in cahoots with the Municipal Commissioner De’Mello (Satish Shah). Satish Kaushik and Neena Gupta play side-kicks to Tarneja. As I watched JBDY again, I was more circumspect and a little wary as to whether to rate it up

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch an unusual and unexpected film featuring the late Irrfan Khan “Road to Ladakh” originally released on 24 th October 2003. Directed by Ashvin Kumar and featuring Koel Purie, this is a short with a run time of about 50 minutes. It’s a rare treat for the road trip movie fans but a trifle unusual for the conventional movie goer. Shot beautifully in and around the Leh mountains, it showcases what happens when two strangers come together in unusual circumstances amidst a road chase. 1.        Watch “Road to Ladakh” for Irrfan. As you watch him, you realise that he was very much the same actor seventeen years ago – the same abrupt manner, staccato dialogue delivery style, reliance on his eyes to do the communication and the trademark silent gaze that was more powerful than his speech. He completed the film with a broken arm and when he was down with illness but took no payment for his efforts. 2.        The film is a short, a tease, surreal and abstract

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch another unusual offering in the regional space, “Ayappanum Koshyium” the Malayalam film now streaming on Amazon Prime. The regional films in India have been high on experimentation and this is what is exciting about this film – an unconventional, no formula led, anti-hero protagonists facing off and a no-holds barred machismo that unravels over almost three hours! Ayappan Nair is a senior police official and here he faces off with an ex-Havildar from the Army Koshy. The film is a series of cat-and-mouse face-offs that are filled with on-the-edge thrill and violence. 1.        Watch Ayappanum Koshyium for some superlative acting from Biju Menon and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Both play flawed characters and are brilliant in the manner in which arrogance, entitlement and bravado combine to create fascinating drama. The manner in which writer-director Sachi manages to showcase the raw human self is commendable. 2.        Full marks to Sachi for creating

ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch the Malayalam film Prithviraj starrer “Driving License” now streaming on Amazon Prime. Starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramood, the film explores the intricacies of fandom and how a momentary rush of blood can result in far reaching complications. Written by Sachy and directed by Jean Paul Lal, the film is based on a novel plot and has some interesting twists. 1.        Prithviraj plays superstar Hareendran and Venjaramood plays Motor Vehicle Inspector Kuruvila and an ardent fan of the superstar. Kuruvila desires to meet up with his hero and this results in a chain of events that make up for the rest of the film. Remember the Shah Rukh 2016 starrer Fan? Well this one is nothing like it but not too many movies have explored the nuances of fandom in India. And for that alone it is worth a watch. 2.        “Driving License” is based on a rather quirky premise but then goes on to morph into a David & Goliath story, then be