Maha's musings

There are so many movies that question the vices of the society. Akshay Kumar starrer OMG-2 (2023), stands out unique from such movies with its perfect blend of screenplay, characterization and impactful dialogues.  Being a sequel to OMG-1(2012) that questions the religious practices, this movie focuses on yet another, often tabooed area - Sex education. Parents even shudder at the very thought of discussing   sex and related concepts in front of their tweens and teens but they ignore the simple fact that the media and peer groups are flooded with the same. It is true that half knowledge is dangerous. With their partially gained knowledge from social media and other sources, the youngsters are misled even manipulated.  Kanti Sharan Mudgal (Pankaj Tripathi), an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, is a man of austerity. He runs a shop in Mahakaal's temple. His simple and content life comes to a standstill when his son Vivek's video (of practising onanism in the school toilet...

Gone are the days where children stayed with parents and visited their grandparents on vacations. In this era of rapid economic changes, parents have to eek out every ounce of their time and effort to earn their breads and to give their children a decent upbringing and a secured future. In this pointless rat race, they fall short in spending time with their little ones.  To keep their children safe and engaged during their working hours, they need someone reliable and capable .There come the grandparents. Despite their frailty they embrace the opportunity to carry out their "Parenthood-2.O" undauntedly, expecting nothing in return.  In due course of time, these grandchildren become both their strength and weakness. The void they feel in their old age is cemented, they gain a new reason to live, to wake-up everyday, to hustle, to fight the odds. The children too, like newly planted saplings, start to flourish. But, can these saplings withstand when the parents who...

Dunki (2023) London - City of dreams or City of Nightmare? Grass is always greener on the other side. People migrating to foreign countries for want of better life is not a new scenario but there is an ugly side too. There are numerous underprivileged, uneducated people who attempt to reach the target country illegally, risking their lives.  Rajkumar Hirani's SRK starrer "Dunki" has attempted its best to portray the plights of those people. Technically, "Dunki is an illegal trip a lot of people take to get out of their country across borders over the world. It is called the donkey travel", SRK had said in one of the interviews before the movie hit the screen.  The movie begins with a dramatic scene where Mannu (Taapsee Pannu), an old lady under medication  escapes from a hospital in London, to return to India as soon as possible. She also requests Hardy Singh (SRK) an old man from her village Laltu in Punjab to help her. When he accepts, she and her ...

"What would you do if your father was GAY?"  Could you even digest that? How weird would it be for you to react or respond? That is exactly what happens to Shivam, a teenager in the movie "Dear Dad" . His father Nitin, in his late 30s finds it difficult to stick to the family, hiding his real sexual orientation. He even wants to part his ways with his wife but finds it difficult to convey that to his son. He drives his son back to the hostel so that he can have some we-time to discuss and sort out the matter.  Things get worsen when Shivam overhears Nitin's confession to his grandpa. He feels infuriated, dumped, and devastated at the same time. Nitin being a calm and composed father lets his son vent out his emotions and bears with his tantrums and sulking.   The first half thus revolves around Nitin's confession and Shivam's reaction to that. After a leap of a few months, in the second half, Nitin's wife Nupur, be...

Love is the most magical thing that hits us when we least expect it. And it is always easy for a tender hearted to fall in love. But for a skeptic? Will it be that easy to convince her and get her love? Difficult but not impossible. Cupid is always on duty! He melts the hearts magically. His arrows never miss the target. The movie shows how cupid connects a tender hearted Daniel Bae who believes in love and destiny with perceptive Natasha Kingsley who rejects it just as  a coincidence. However the fate is on its play that they both fall prey to it as puppets. The movie opens hysterically showing Natasha, arguing with her parents howmuch she loves NewYork and not ready to leave it anymore. It is unleashed that their African immigrant family has to be deported to Jamaica after an ICE raid. When the entire family is budging, Natasha fights back, knocking the doors of different officials, seeking legal help. On the other hand, Daniel, being a Korean immigrant wh...

  Title: Beyond the Blackboard (2011) Director: Jeff Bleckner Language: English (US) Duration : 97mins. Genre: Television drama film   A feel good movie that shows how a strong willed committed teacher can make a lasting impact in the lives of her students, no matter what they undergo. It shows the predicaments of a passionate woman named Stacey Bess who ends up becoming a teacher in a temporary shelter where the children of socially neglected people are schooled. The movie is an adaptation of   “Nobody Don’t Love Nobody” (A memoir by Stacey Bess) When the movie opens, we are shown the glimpses of Stacey’s troubled childhood and how thrilled she is about becoming a teacher. She says, “(as a child) I loved to be a teacher. I loved the giant pull-down maps and the way brand new textbooks smelled. I loved writing my name at the top of the page, as though I was someone who counted…..” These words strongly project how becoming a teacher can be an escape from her t...

No matter how much people get disappointed with Bollywood, it has never ceased to satisfy an ardent lover of drama films like me.  Let that be "Thappad" which shows how a wife who is ill-treated by her husband, stands out for her self-respect; "English Vinglish" which shows an Indian homemaker's longing to master the Lingua Franca(English) despite being ridiculed by her husband; "Nil Battey Sannata" which talks about a mother who dreams her daughter's future; "Queen" which teaches that women can be happy despite being single; "Dum laga ke haisha" which teaches that love conquers looks and a handful of other sports drama films. In this lengthy list comes, Kangana Ranaut starer "Panga"(2020) .  Panga means "to pay back", "to retribute".  It is based on the real life story of a Kabaddi player and former Indian women's team captain who had to let go her dreams and aspi...

  "That one slap reminded me of all the unfair things which I had undergone, ignoring" This is the punchline of Anubhav Sinha's movie, Thappad (2020) . It shows Amrita (Ammu), a certified classical dancer who gets married to a fiercely ambitious, affluent young man— Vikram and chooses to be a typical housewife rather than pursuing her career. Right from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, she makes herself available for all the becks and calls of her husband and takes good care of her mother-in-law. As a couple, they share the dream of relocating to London as a part of Vikram's promotion. This aspiration grows gradually into an obsession in Vikram's mind which nobody visibly notices.  On the day of the announcement of his promotion, he throws a party for their family members, neighbours and office acquaintances. Ammu, in her high spirits,  arranges that in a grand way and is having a gala time with her loved ones.  It's by then, th...

"Oh these days the students are so indifferent. They are so difficult to be tackled. I don't think I can make sense! Teaching is my duty and if they don't respond, I can't do anything further! ....." The movie reminded me of all these thoughtless grumpy words which I have uttered on various occasions. And I regret it all now. It takes just a minute for a teacher to blame the students for their shortcomings. But it takes immense courage and compassion to take responsibility. Most of us fail in this. Only select few teachers like Ms.G surpass this and create an everlasting impact in the lives of their students! "Freedom Writers" — the American movie which hit the screen in 2007 is based on the book "The Freedom Writers Diary" published by Erin Gruwell (a compilation of her students' write-ups) The plot revolves around Erin Gruwell (known as Ms.G). She joins Wilson Highschool as a teacher of English and is given freshm...

" I am Kalam " the title of the movie is quite elusive that I thought it to be a biopic of our former president Dr.A.P.J.Abdulkalam. later, only when I scrolled through the comments that I came to understand the essence of the movie. The comments were so lavish in praising the screenplay as well as it's noble theme that made me watch the movie. It was an hour and a half long. Every scene and every dialogue was deeply engrossing that it didn't bore me even a bit.  "Chhotu, who cleans vessels at the dhaba; Chhotu who gets smudged with oil while cleaning trucks and busses; Chhotu who looks for food in the garbage bins;  Chhotu who looks after Madame's baby;  Chhotu who tolerates his employer's scorns and beatings; Chhotu who wants to sit on his dad's shoulder and go a carnival;  Chhotu who wants to hear his mother's lullaby;  Chhotu who wants to be praised and lovingly corrected by his teacher;  Chhotu who wants to have a name of his own...

It was purely serendipitous that I chanced upon this movie– "Rough Book" when I was casually surfing through a collection of movies. The very title and the poster convinced me to watch it at once that I directly plunged into watching.  There are countless educational dramas being streamed on various online platforms. They either praise the paragons of knowledge or blame the shortcomings of the education system. Rough Book is nothing different from them. At some places it also reminded me of " Taare Zameen Par" . The viewers are of mixed opinions about the movie but being a teacher, I could very well connect with the characters and travel hand-in-hand with them.  Santoshi, an idealistic Physics teacher is shown spending most of her time reading and experimenting. She has a good teaching career in the beginning. However things take a sudden turn when her husband is caught for taking bribe. When she sees the bribe money stashed behind her books, she gets ...