There was a time when Goutam Ghose could do no wrong. One of the great bastions of Bengali
cinema from the 80s, his brand of filmmaking has inspired generations. Perhaps his loss of
vigour in this decade made Raahgir such a triumphant return to form. It sees him go back
to his roots - making films about villages, abject poverty, and the values of humanity that still
reside in those villages. <br><br>

Based on a short story of the same name by Prafulla Roy (also one of the writers of the film), Raahgir follows Nathuni (Tillotama Shome), who is
the sole breadwinner of a family that consists of a paralysed husband (Onkardas Manikpuri) and
two children. Hunger drives her miles away to a town in Jharkhand’s mining heartland in
search of work. She encounters a lone traveller on her way. Lakhua (played brilliantly by Adil
Hussain) is a loner who walks the fringes of survival, while singing songs and dancing. He is a
peculiar character, one who truly belongs on the roads and not their destinations. <br><br>

The two encounter Chopatlal (Neeraj Kabi) whose scraped-together van gets stuck in the mud,
carrying an old couple to a hospital in town. The two characters are stuck in a
conundrum. If they do not help, the couple dies. If they do, they and Nathuni’s family will have
to sleep hungry. 

<h2>The dilemma is one that has unfortunately persisted for longer than it should have.
While crippling poverty still plagues Indian villages, it is also coupled with a deep sense of humanity and kindness. Despite struggling with fragile chances of survival, humans often find it in themselves to help others. When
subsistence becomes the only goal of one’s life, life itself must become a way of achieving a purpose that makes it bearable enough to carry on. </h2>

The 69-year-old filmmaker’s strong satire and storytelling is ageless. The film comments
on the plight of the tribal community, the impact of the Naxal movement on them and their subsequent suppression. The
mines and factories that destroy the lush natural beauty of the land are captured beautifully by
the young cinematographer Ishaan Ghose. Wide frames and natural weather play a game larger
than the characters who are at the mercy of the elements around them in the film. The
mesmerising grey hues during rain and storm, contrasted against the green pastures of the land
along with the colourless machinery of the factories, all form a poignant visual treat.

<h2>The sheer brute strength of the powerful acting of the four main actors (all of whom could carry
a film each on their shoulders) is enough to invoke deep emotion. Helped with the masterful direction of a visual-based director, one who is both a cinematographer as well as an actor, and a story that has stood the test
of time, the film has all the bases covered. </h2>

Raahgir is a film that keeps on giving the more one thinks about it. It works as a story about
humanity that keeps persisting despite all odds. It works just as well as a political allegory,
where all the characters are, but a cog in the machine.

<br/><br/>
<b><i>Written by <span class="text-gradient">Nimish K Sharma</span></i></b>

Raahgir | Review | Adil Hussain, Tillotama Shome

Much like people, how a film makes you feel, can often be a good index of judgement. Does it disturb you? Good. Does it trigger a spell of melancholia? Better. Throw in a little pathos and poignance and voila! The film has managed to become a successful work of art. If the purpose of art is to reform society, what better way to invoke deep sentiment in its audience that leads to corrective measures and actions?

<h2>'The Illegal' achieves a similar space, even if not going all the way. It tells a story which is sure to stay with you, in a deep recess of the self, long after you're done watching it. What starts as an exciting story of hope and possibilities concludes with a heavy residue of human emotion that absolutely refuses to leave. </h2>

The narrative offers a critique of the American dream, an idea pervasive enough to have spread its roots all over the globe, securing itself a deeply entrenched space in India as well. A young boy from Delhi has landed himself a place in his dream course at an unnamed, but established to be an immensely reputed film school in the US. <br><br>

However, before you get too comfortable with the idea, our protagonist Hassan has his first encounter with hostility at the airport itself, an omen of what is to come. The narrative brings in a suggestion of using light and colours, primarily red, to invoke those forces, both within (Hassan himself) and without (other characters), which will obstruct Hassan’s way to achieving his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Interestingly, it would mostly be his fellow-immigrants who become the biggest challenges to be tackled with. <br><br>

This is perhaps also the first time when there is a direct echo of imminent events and the direction the narrative is headed in a film titled 'The Illegal'. The blurry lens gains some clarity on the horizon of expectation which has already been put in place for the viewer. From then on, it is only a matter of time until the inexorable movement of the narrative, as well as the viewer, find themselves at a point of no return.
On the first night of his arrival in Los Angeles, Hassan finds himself without a home, and thus begins the spiralling down of his plans and hopes. 

<h2>The film does a wonderful job of capturing and translating to screen the turmoil, apprehensions, fear and the absolute, invincible need of a twenty-something-boy to make things work. </h2>

Despite the heady cocktail of everything that Hassan undergoes, there is never a sense of heaviness or disorientation. The story keeps the viewer deeply involved throughout.

<h2>Another strong aspect of the script lies in its exploration of the contrast in Eastern and Western values, and how the two attempt to conflate (in a doe-eyed, inexperienced protagonist), yet prove to be too starkly different to be even remotely similar (in Hassan’s realisation of how far his lived reality in the US is from what he had expected). </h2>

'The Illegal' does a beautiful job of tapping into several emotions in the right measure, and seamlessly weaves together wonderful performances by Shweta Tripathi, Adil Hussain, Iqbal Theba and the effortless Suraj Sharma. Sharma brings to the screen wide-eyed wonder and innocence which makes the story more heartbreaking. Irrespective of his naïveté and mistakes, you still find yourself rooting for him till the very end because dreams may come true at any point, but will they for our protagonist?


<br/><br/>
<b><i>Written by <span class="text-gradient">Rosheena Zehra</span></i></b>


The Illegal | Review | Suraj Sharma, Shweta Tripathi, Adil Hussain

The short film is subtle and calm which is precisely what makes its climax significantly disconcerting for the viewer. The narrative starts off as a regular story of gossip, scandal and infidelity in a small pocket of Delhi. <br><br> However it progesses unpredictably to catch even the most prepared viewer off guard. Tisca Chopra's performance in the film is a dream, just as strongly supported by Rasika Dugal. The major chunk of Chutney is a conversation between two housewives over a plate of pakodhas. While the audience might be preoccupied with the more obvious narrative of addressing a disloyal husband who has taken fancy to a woman younger than his wife, the dark soul of the film rests peacefully within the recipe the displeased, older, but also the more experienced woman has to share.

Chutney | Short Film of the Day

Saving Chintu is one of those films that you just want to wrap in a hug; the film too, in turn, is bound
to leave you wrapped in the warmth of its inclusive embrace. It is a heart-warming
exploration of love - both unconditional and conditional - between couples, friends, and
a parent and their child. <br><br>

There are two parallel stories, seemingly unrelated, that play out in the film. The first is of a middle-
aged doctor who is, in every respect, the very definition of a gentleman and, in general, a good
person. He runs a non-profit medical practice, gives up his seat on the bus to let a woman sit without
demanding any gratitude in return, turns a table fan away from himself towards his sick patient and
her mother, and is a loving husband looking to adopt a child with his wife – the sort of man that any
Indian grandmother would approvingly say was “raised right”. 

<br><br> The second story follows a gay couple
looking to adopt and raise a child of their own, with their heart set on a boy in India – Chintu. As we
watch the couple struggle with emotional conflicts, cultural obstacles, and complexities that come
with the adoption, and the doctor and his wife contemplate their own decisions regarding adopting
a child, the two stories eventually collide and merge together in a manner that is largely predictable,
but no less heartening and moving.

<h2>The film throws light on several important issues without ever exploiting them, or seeming preachy.
The stories and emotions are honest and real, enhanced by the brilliant and raw performances by
the film’s cast. It explores topics like HIV, discrimination and complications faced by the LGBTQ
community, adoption, and what it means to be a family, with a tenderness, authenticity, and
attention to detail that clearly reflects the effort put into research and how close these topics are to
the filmmakers’ hearts. </h2>

Naming the young boy Chintu itself is fascinating; it signifies someone being small and vulnerable –
someone in need of protection and saving. Being a common child's name in India, it also, perhaps,
signifies a lack of identity – someone like a child in an orphanage who might not have formally been
given a name. 

<h2>Watching the protagonists interact with the abrupt, clearly orthodox officials at the
orphanage is enough to unsettle you with disgust at the fact that most
government institutions in India are, in fact, run by people like him. It is further accompanied by horror at the plight of the
helpless children like Chintu who are dependent on them.</h2>

The film, at the end of the day, is more uplifting than it is upsetting. However, this doesn’t take
away from the fact that Chintu indeed needs saving, and anyone, irrespective of
their gender, race, caste, sexual identity or orientation, who is willing and able to provide this safety
should be allowed the chance to take care of him. At its conclusion, more than simply being a heart-warming, emotional film, it is also a reminder of the harsh reality that Chintus everywhere must be waging a battle against.

<br/><br/>
<b><i>Written by <span class="text-gradient">Sanjana Bhagwat</span></i></b>

Saving Chintu | Adil Hussain, Dipannita Sharma | Review

A heady mixture of supernatural fantasy and horror, of memory and past, and the flow of time, riding steadfastly on Adil Hussain’s impeccable performance, Nirvana Inn presents to you the many far-reaching effects of a fractured psyche. <br><br>

Jogiraj is a caretaker of a property in Himachal Pradesh, of the eponymous resort where strange events soon begin to stick their head out in the most disturbing and unexpected ways. Alongside these developments are strewn little bits of information about Jogiraj’s past which together begin to weave a story of a dark secret that now threatens to consume the protagonist’s present.<br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/TzloPxWh.png">
<br><br>

The narrative does a beautifully skilled job of looking inwards, more than outwards. Horror is invoked by employing the manifestations of these intimate functionings on the immediate physical reality and not the other way round. Amidst the memories that haunt Jogiraj, the question implicit to the narrative then becomes, can this particular inn, a reminder of the redemption and salvation that could be the fate of a truly repentant soul, indeed be the space of Jogiraj’s redemption as well? Is the inn truly an in-between realm that straddles the possibility of both heaven and hell?<br><br>

Every night, Jogi is presented with a deeply unsettling growling on the roof of his living quarters, as if the hounds of hell have descended themselves to take charge of his soul. Additionally, strange guests enter and exit this space with tremors in their wake that become instrumental in Jogi’s unravelling. Once again, as reality bleeds into dream, the external world simply serves to echo the internal machinations of Jogi’s mind, deepening the chasm that exists between within and without. <br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/qfPAQ3Ch.png">
<br><br>

In the process, the role of guilt, survival, suicide, and eventually, death, all become crucial to the development of the plot. Motifs and symbols in the form of masks, sustained silences (the film has no dialogue for the first few minutes, for instance), folk art forms, and a background score that further pronounces the eeriness of them all, together allow the film to show, not tell. Whether the supernatural elements are truly souls driven by vindictiveness, or if they are a result of a man unable to reconcile his guilt of a terrible accident, remains another core underpinning of the narrative. All of these elements together allow the final result to bring to life uniqueness of approach and treatment of thematic concerns. <br><br>

Nirvana Inn is definitely an ambitious project, with indeed some hits and misses, but the overarching storytelling remains skilled and notable, with Adil Hussain’s expertise and finesse as an actor being one of the true triumphs of the film. Additionally, Rajshri Deshpande as Mohini, is quietly powerful, ensuring that the viewer is at the edge of their seats every time she enters to deliver one or the other mysterious, alluring and clandestine developments. <br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/PjrG2gYh.png">
<br><br>

 The writing too remains a marked strength of the film. The film should be relished for the freshness it brings to the table, using tools and devices that have existed all along. However, finding the right combination and balance of these, sometimes complementary, other times disparate, is what makes a story work, and it is precisely that that the film endeavors and presents to you.

<br/><br/>
<b><i>Written by <span class="text-gradient">Rosheena Zehra</span></i></b>










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