A Simple Murder (2020): SonyLiv Original Review

Of lately, the hindi film industry has seen a lot of contributions to the dark comedy genre, with Andhadhun being the most notable outing. The beauty of dark comedies is that there is a certain hint of comedy in what otherwise may be a tragedy. A Simple Murder, a 7-episode-long web series recently dropped on SonyLiv is the newest edition in this genre. Money is the root cause of all evil in this one, the murders, chaos, chase and mayhem as the series progress becomes the highlight of this engaging affair. This dark comedy has it all, comedy of errors, coincidences and a cat and mouse chase between the central characters as each one of them wanting to own the bigger piece of the pie. Manish (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) is a struggling lower middle class man who's wife Richa (Priya Anand) looks down upon him as he is incapable of fulfilling his responsibilities; Manish is on a quest to find an investor for his start-up since 5 years and yet he has found no luck. One fine day he is reached out by an investor, but due to a bizzare set of events, he ends up at a gangster called Panditji's (Yashpal Sharma) door who offers him a contract of killing a renowned politician's daughter for an amount of Rs. 10 Lacs and offers Rs. 5 Lacs advance along with the gun then and there.

Now, as Manish's eyes are struck by greed, this whole story progresses, new characters are introduced including the actual contract killer Himmat (Sushant Singh) and Manish killing Santosh's (Amit Sial) love interest mistakenly (who happens to be another gangster) and runs away with his life savings worth Rs. 5 Crores; it turns out that we have signed up for what will explore a range of elements that would make it a memorable experience for sometime. The confusions, errors and coincidences follow along with greed and lust among the characters that marks a whole set of segments of lies, thievings and deceits to go one up against each other. The cast performs exceptionally well, with Ayyub being the show stopper, his comic timing and the arc towards the concluding episodes are worth praising, Priya Anand performs her part justifiably, she is one character of this web series that deserves to be the most hateful inviting trouble all the time for her husband and continuously cheating him with her sly and wicked boss Rahul (Ayaz Khan), has pulled it off so well that you will actually end up hating her, which is actually good. Amit Sial as the poetry loving gangster has his moments too, his portrayal is so effective and effortless and every time he appears on screen, he makes you chuckle. Sushant Singh as the pensive and brooding (also, funny at times) is convincing, though mostly he is confined to be as a spectator, does full justice to his part, Panditji (Yashpal Sharma) is equally funny, playing the gangster who the profession of a priest as a front, the cop duo of Gopal Dutt and Vikram Kochar have a splendid chemistry with a quirky take on all the cases being investigated, they are a treat to watch and a special mention to the Narrator (Vijay Raaz) who brings out the whole background and adds valuable commentary with such grace. 

The Story and Screenplay by Akhilesh Jaiswal and Prateek Payodhi brings out ample amount of comic sequences blended with a lot of twists and turns which will keep the viewer hooked for a worthy binge-watch, though a lot of circumstances are created as per convenience and full of filmy clichés but all-in-all makes the web series a valuable watch despite of being considerably less impactful towards the close of the 4th episode. The Dialogues are extremely well written, they are filled with humor, from the beginning to the end which will entertain you throughout. The Editing by Parikshhit Jha is commendable though it could have been a more intricate towards the last three episodes, but that becomes merely passable. The Background Score by Karsh Kale adds the dark and wacky flavour to every episode thus complementing the tone. With not a lot of expectations on the front of Production, the quality is excellent and Ajay G Rai deserves all the praises. Last but not the least, it appears that Sachin Pathak, the Director ensured that he packs a punch on OTT by bringing out this technically sound piece. 

We have seen a lot of work focusing in this direction: an ensemble cast, a murder or a heist gone wrong and everyone in the frame going round and round to get the piece of the pie, a lot of them have worked this formula of sorts but overusing this can also make the interests of the viewers go astray. Though, on the other hand, a technically superior end product would never put people off if the same is made at a considerable amount and does not turn out to be repetitive: this is what works for A Simple Murder, though the narrative and formula is a bit old but has worked in the past due to their technical prowess. Please do give this one a chance, it is a complete must watch. 

Welcome Home (2020): SonyLiv Movie Review

Very seldom it happens that Indian filmmakers try this run of the mill formula for pitching an idea like this one, as the same wouldn't really be welcomed by the single screen audience and is bound to receive limited reach at the multiplex level as well, hence the film finds an OTT release. The captive chamber dramas mostly garner audience in the West which has produced an abundant amount of notable works as regards to the contribution in this league of content. Welcome home, a SonyLiv movie discovers and probably define the exact same genre in the Indian context. A government survey officer who finds a property unmarked for the process, visits it, followed by two census takers that are sent there: located in a far off town, in the midst of woods. Both of them are held as captives right after they smell foul play at the premises. The grim, violence and gore surrounds the narrative in the running minutes of the film.

Now, how often do we talk about deep rooted sexism, patriarchy and abuse against women? More often than a lot. The film centres around the same theme but weaves over it a story that is terrifying and as the tagline goes, not for the faint hearted. In the initial phase, the story keeps you connected as the characters develop and gives you an insight that the protagonists Anuja (Kashmira Irani) and Neha (Swarda Thigale) are subdued at the hands of the menfolk of their family by looking down upon their drive to work and earn for themselves. What intrigues the most is that the film evolves like a slow poison and sets the pace and tone of the world that it has created, kudos to the talented Hanish Taneja for the background score that lends utmost support towards it. The young girl who appears to be timid and nervous Prerna (Tina Bhatia) opens the door in a very striking way and lets out something that would haunt the viewers for quite about sometime, alarming the two women who decide to return as they believe that their job is finally done, soon to find themselves curious and conscience stricken to actually find out what's wrong with Prerna. 

To their horror, they are soon captured by Prerna's father Ghanshyam (Shashi Bhushan) who is on a vow of silence throughout the whole film and doesn't have a single dialogue, but shines in his menacing ways and their domestic help Bhola (Boloram Das) who is calm till he's cooperated with, but absolute evil when he isn't, showcases his destructive urges effectively which is disturbing to say the least. Amma (Akshita Arora) mostly stays a silent spectator and provides implicit support to the evil duo, with her sly and wicked demeanor, she does full justice to the source material, but the protagonists (Irani and Thigale) turn out to be the real winners who portray their part with such conviction that their pain and suffering becomes absolutely palpable in the later half of the film. Also, Anuja's fiancé (Romil K) as an out an out unbashed chauvinist and Neha's brother Naru (Siddhesh Wanikar) as a manipulative and oppressive man add well to the supporting cast of the film.

Adding to the positives, the spellbound writing by Ankita Narang and skillful direction and editing by Pushkar Mahabal produces some gut wrenching moments that keep you on the edge of their seats. Now, being it a film with absolutely no star cast, the production design and quality really impress! The cinematography is brilliant in a way that it captures the soul and essence of the locations portrayed quite aptly, all the credit to Saee Bhope and yet again background score complements the sombre tone of the film and hit hard extending the eerie and spine chilling flavor to the whole affair. The scenes could have been wholesome considering the fact that it released on the OTT platform, but the sequences of torture, bloodshed and violence are kept to a bare minimum, that's where the screenplay, which is otherwise top-notch, falls flat. Also, the characters of Prerna and Amma do not have a lot to contribute to the story, which in my opinion shouldn't have been the case, had the makers been indulging in exploring their side of the story, the end product could have been way better. Some instances in the film are loose-ended and open to interpretation which do not add to the story at all and could have been easily chopped off, nonetheless, the editing turns out to be quite fulfilling. 

We saw a recent film on Netflix called Bulbbul that encapsulated a tale of female abuse and oppression which eventually got to bite the dust being whimsical and ineffective; Welcome Home is like a more real, improved and effective take on the same subjects sought to be covered, drawing no comparison between the both as they belong to different genres technically but striking similarities of the subject of pitiable situation of women and how they come up as winners against all odds. The film also raises some very important questions that need our consideration in everyday life, like the normalisation of wife-beating, suppression of women's ambitions and child sexual abuse. Though the women who are the central characters of the film fight back and emerge as victors, the situation in the socioeconomic context has perturbed the generations in the past and continues to do so in the present.