Release Date : January 20, 2023
123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Starring: Rakul Preet Singh, Sumeet Vyas, Satish Kaushik, Rajesh Tailang, Dolly Ahluwalia, Prachee Shah Paandya, Rakesh Bedi, and Riva Arora
Director: Tejas Prabhaa Vijay Deoskar
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Music Directors: Akhil Sachdeva, Durgesh R Rajbhatt, Rohan, Sumeet Bellary
Cinematography: Siddharth Bharat Vasani
Editor: Shruthi Bora
Related Links : Trailer
Starring : Mahie Gill, Manu Rishi Chaddha, Dolly Ahluwalia, Supriya Shukla, Rajesh Sharma, Mehak Manwani, Sumit Gulati, Manoj Bakshi, Aditya Kumar, Shardul Rana, Archita Sharma
Directed by : Gagan Puri
Produced by : Ritu Arya, Sandeep Arya
Music by : Meet Bros
Cinematography : Soni Singh
Edited by : Shubham Srivastava
So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Hindi film Door Ke Darshan. The film is available on Netflix and let’s see how it is.
What’s it about?
The film is set in Delhi and Sunil(Manu Rishi) lives with his teenage kids after his wife Billo(Mahie Gill) leaves him for good. On the other hand, Sunil’s mother Darshan(Dolly Ahluwalia) is in a coma for 30 long years. The twist in the tale arises when Darshan suddenly wakes up from Coma. The doctors suggest Sunil that his mother’s mind is fragile and she should not go through any stress otherwise things will become dangerous. So, to keep her mother safe, Sunil tells her that she has been in a coma just for the last six months. He sets up things just how they were 30 years ago. The rest of story is as to how Sunil manages his wife, kids, and keeps his mom happy.
What’s Good
The story of the film is quite good and has been set quite interestingly in the rooted bylanes of Delhi. Manu Rishi is the backbone of the film and delivers a solid performance. His character has various shades and he does his complex role superbly. Senior actress, Dolly Ahluwalia is a bit over the top here and there but is perfect for her role. Mahie Gill plays a frustrated wife and does well in key scenes.
The Delhi lingo is quite good and evokes good humor. The thread between Manu Rishi and his wife played by Mahie Gill has been designed well. The humor generated in serious situations also looks good and suits the mood of the film. The flavor of the film and how relationships in below middle-class families work have been showcased well. The camerawork, dialogues, and editing is perfect.
What’s Bad
As said above, humor is the main highlight of the film. But it is made a bit over the top in areas in which it was not necessary at all. The film starts off on a slow note and takes a lot of time to enter into the main story. Mahie Gill and her role have not been given too much importance.
The comedy generated through an adult character Bimla from a porn book has been taken a notch higher in many scenes and that was not necessary at all. The climax is also simple and is ended in a jiffy which also disappoints.
Final Word
Overall, Door Ke Darshan is a situational comedy that is set in the bylanes of Delhi. The premise and humor keeps the audience engaged most of the time. If you ignore the slightly loud characters and dull climax, this film makes for a time pass watch during this lockdown period. Give it a shot.
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Lin Laishram, Sayani Gupta, Tenzing Dalha, Dolly Ahluwalia, Rohan Joshi
Director : Nicholas Kharkongor
Our pick for the lockdown review series is Axone, directed by Nicholas Kharkongor, which is currently streaming on Netflix. The film, set in Delhi, throws light on the racism that migrants from the North eastern part of India face in the capital city, and how, despite all odds against them, they continue to build their lives.
What’s the story?
Chanbi (Lin Laishram), Upasna(Sayani Gupta), Minam (Asenla Jamir) are close friends who share a flat in a middle-class neighbourhood in Delhi. Their landlady (Dolly Ahluwalia) keeps complaining about the male guests at Chanbi’s flat and gives them a warning that she’ll not allow it anymore. One day, when Minam goes for her IAS interview on the same day when her wedding is scheduled, her friends get together to cook Axone, a traditional pork dish, to surprise Minam. Problem is, Axone has an extremely pungent smell during its preparation, and it creates a lot of problems for Chanbi, Upasana, and their friends who want to cook the dish at all costs.
What’s Good?
Axone is one of the very few films to focus on the ups and downs in the lives of migrants from North-Eastern states living in Delhi. The casual racism that they face because of the way they look and the vulgar comments that women face are shown as a matter-of-fact, and when someone raises their voices, people unleash their violent side on them. There’s a subtle commentary on whether the country is willing to accept these migrants as their own countrymen because their customs, traditions, and even their food seems quite strange to others. While racism and food is an important element in the film, Axone also focuses on how, despite all odds, people from North Eastern states form their own groups in the capital city, which becomes their source of happiness. So, when Chanbi and her boyfriend Bendang (Lanuakum Ao) are insulted in the streets, their past continues to haunt them as a ghost. There’s also a heartbreaking story about how Bendang was almost beaten to death by the locals in Delhi, which causes a lot of resentment and health issues for him. Beyond all this, the film is about friendship and how friends will stand up for each other no matter what. Lin Laishram and Sayani Gupta are brilliant throughout the film, and Rohan Joshi entertains thoroughly.
What’s Bad?
Despite its core premise about racism, the film is still a lighthearted take on the lives of migrants, which is quite surprising. And so, a lot of potentially tense moments where there’s a conflict between the characters and their neighbours, it’s dealt with humour, most of the time. Also, whenever the characters switch to their native language, sometimes the subtitles go missing and that makes it hard to follow what they are talking about.
Final word :
Axone is a fun film and at the same time, a deeply political film about how people elsewhere in India tend to treat migrants from North-Eastern states. And it forces us to think about whether we are as inclusive as we think, especially when it comes to customs and food habits of people from different cultures. It’s a film which judges people who are extremely judgemental about those from a different part of the country. It’s also about food and the value it holds in people’s lives. So, when the group of friends desperately want to make Axone, knowing fully well that it’s going to raise an alarm in the building, they literally have to beg the neighbours and others, to tolerate the smell for sometime, because it’s a traditional wedding dish.
Rating: 3.5/5
