Movie Review - Uri

Hail the new grown-up Bollywood! Once in a while comes a film that firmly announces that Bollywood has grown up and can unshackle from its moribund rules to craft a new experience for the audience – Uri is that film! Before you judge me for an elitist, let me clarify that I enjoy the formulaic Hindi movies (albeit well made, engaging stuff) very much but when a subject demands painting outside the lines, it is uplifting if a Bollywood movie does that! Uri presents a war movie which is treated with the professionalism and rigour that a war movie demands and mostly manages to not fall astray to the “bolly-formula” of a war movie.

I am acutely aware that the film has been running in theatres for a week now, so this review is not exactly ‘timely’ – having said that the film collections on its second Friday are almost as much as its first Friday (a rare event!) so I know that there are still  many of us who have not yet seen the film, and hopefully my review will help some of you decide now.

CONTENT (STORY & SCREENPLAY)

Ok – we know the film is based on real events and the challenge in ever recreating a real incident into a movie is to balance between staying true to the incident you are narrating yet creatively weave an engaging narrative around it. Uri does this really well – the writers have done a good dual job – a) research well into the actual events to share insights which were hitherto not very well known, b) weave around the event a narrative that is engaging, tight and emotionally arousing.

Unlike war movies in the past (Border, LOC, even Lakshya) Uri, stays clear of cliched jingoism, overt melodrama and patriotism. In fact the professionalism with which the Army operations (both in war and peace time) are presented, uplifted the movie significantly. Of course one cannot say the same of its portrayal of the Administration on the other side of the border – which is shown to be unprofessional and caricature-ish.

Overall I would still give the CONTENT a strong 3.5 /5.0 – good storyline/ screenplay, could have been a little tighter but definitely a strong foundation to mount the film.

PERFORMANCES

Its an out and out Vicky Kaushal film, and there is nothing to complain about. Vicky slips into the character beautifully, convincingly passes off as a commando and effortlessly displays emotions that could dampen Scrooge’s eyes. The funeral scene, for instance, where he repeats the war cry twice and chokes at the third turn. He is intense yet spontaneous, calm yet seething and real yet heroic.

The ensemble cast plays their parts well enough – but nothing much to write home about.

I would go for a 4 / 5 for the Performances.

OTHER TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Uri excels in its technical aspects – it is this that gives the film a very modern look, the detailing makes it believable, and in some scenes Zero Dark Thirty revisits you. I would not tempt a comparison as I do believe Uri might pale so, but the film does take many notches up the quality of execution and finesse we are used to seeing in a Bollywood film.

The image that you hold of our soldiers in warzone will change forever after this movie – advanced analytics guiding warfare, soldiers armed with modern weaponry and equipment etc.

The other departments to commend is Cinematography & Editing – all battlefront scenes are slick, very well mounted and capture both the intensity of the moment and the breath-taking beauty of the sites.  

Finally, Music plays a pivotal role in the film – thankfully largely as the background score and without song-dance sequence jumping up to disrupt the flow.

On technical aspects, I go for 4.5 on 5.0.

Overall Uri is an engaging and refreshing movie – watch it for its technical finesse, for strong Vicky Kaushal performance and a deeper view of one of the most popular recent events in our country.

On the closing note, personally Uri impressed me also for its authentic portrayal of Army lifestyle – as a son and a grandson of an Army officer, I hold dear how the life behind the barracks and Cantonment are brought to life on screen. The last movie that I felt did this very well was Lakshya and it remains till date one of my all time favourite films. Uri just took it to a whole new level.

I would give the film a strong 4 rating overall and strongly recommend everyone who has not yet seen this film to go give it a watch. Its worth it.  

The Accidental Prime Minister - Movie Review

Despite poor reviews I had to see the Accidental Prime Minister. It was a given that movie may or may not be politically motivated but the reviews would definitely be.  I stand vindicated as the ‘intellectual superiors’ of our society one after another thrashed this film with 1/1.5 stars....the same who would rate a Dilwale / Zero 3. Talk about propaganda, well there you have it :). Second and more important reason was that I had read and loved the book so I didn’t want to miss the movie for sure. 

Ok here s my review of the movie - and I would do so in parts and rate each part individually. 

A. Content. 

B. Performances 

C. Screenplay 

D. Other technical aspects 

CONTENT (4/5)

I am happy to note that the movie stays true to the contents of the book. There is nothing that is particularly surprising or scandalous considering most of us who were adults and watched the news during UPA times will have very clear memories of most of the incidents played out in the film. Aside from a stray dialogue between MMS and his wife or MMS & Sonia, most incidents in the film are fairly picked from the book or matters reported in news - the Nuclear Deal, the PMO turf war, corruption scandals, leaking of internal letters, set up of the unconstitutional NAC or Radia tapes.

So while its representation can be called fictionalized, the incidents in the movie are anything but fiction. 

PERFORMANCES - (3/5)

Anupam Kher delivers a good Performance as do the rest of the star cast. The cast does share a close resemblance to the real life characters both in looks and mannerisms - they didn’t have to, but the fact that they do, does create for a surreal experience.  I did feel sorry for the portrayal of the PM when he delivered his speeches in the movie, but when I recall the speeches of the then real life PM, I have to acknowledge that the portrayal is quite accurate. 

Would you judge Colin Firth so for stammering and stuttering helplessly in his portrayal of King George VI in The King Speech. He wasn’t mocking the King, he was portraying him on celluloid. So is Anupam Kher and he does justice to the role. He plays the strong bold Manmohan Singh (during his early PM days) just as well as the beaten and betrayed (by his own party) during his final years in the PMs chair. 

It is unfortunate however that despite an ensemble of good actors, you fail to truly connect and empathize with any of the characters in the film. And that is the failing of the screenplay. 

SCREENPLAY - (1.5/5)

watching the movie was like seeing chapters from the book being enacted on screen. Each depiction true to the book but together lacking a coherent screenplay. 

And while this may have been fine if they the movie was a documentary but the film is mounted as a commercial project and absence of a coherent narrative was a disengaging experience. 

To be fair the Accidental PM- the book is not a “story” it’s s collection and reproduction of incidents during UPA1 times. Translating this book into a movie would come with one big challenge for any filmmaker -  to weave a coherent screenplay one would have to take creative liberties in plugging gaps in the narrative And that would have meant misrepresentation of facts on celluloid. So while I would admonish the filmmakers for shoddy scriptwriting but I give them credit for staying true to the contents of the book by large. 

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Ok. I don’t think I have much to comment on the other technical aspects. The VFX in the movie were strictly ok as was the lighting and the sets. I don’t know what insides of these buildings actually look like, but could they look like the sets in the movie? Yeah, I suppose so. 

One very annoying aspect of the movie however was its background score - it was loud, consistent and jarring, almost distracting! Could have done with a lot less of it. 

Overall Accidental PM is a bold movie but a venture that probably should have been taken by more seasoned professionals - it could have been something much more! I would rate the film 2.5 for its ambition, good performances, a fairly engaging experience in most parts and a reasonable job of representing a great book on celluloid. 

Lastly I have a point of view on the timing of this film. Many people find timing of the movie politically motivated. I felt the timing was commercially motivated :). 

Such a controversial film is likely to get more footfalls and thus make more money during the election year than any other year. 

This is no different from a spate of family movies releasing around Christmas and romantic films around Valentines Day, patriotic films around 4th July - in the US. 

Timing of this film, to my mind, is just about money.