Change Your Image
indiancoasterenthusiast
Reviews
Bheed (2023)
BHEED is better than you think
BHEED is a slow, intense, unrelenting, thought-provoking, and above all, a CHALLENGING film.
It sets itself apart from other COVID-19 dramas by also being an effective contained thriller set in a secluded police checkpoint near a mall.
Pankaj Kapur, Rajkumar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar give some of their best performances to date in this film.
BHEED is indeed a slow burn, and will not appeal to everyone. Do not expect a conventional, action-heavy thriller from this movie. BHEED shows the harrowing real, but unseen stories of the pandemic, the ones that many of us had turned a blind eye to.
I do have one criticism of BHEED - some of its stories (particularly the one about the divorced mother) were not developed enough to have any lasting emotional impact.
Doctor G (2022)
Very different from the norm...
From all the trailers and promotional material, "Doctor G" seemed to be the simple, formulaic but ultimately hollow Ayushmann Khurrana social commentary entertainer. For the first half, it was exactly that.
Ayushmann Khurrana beginning the film as an extremely flawed, awkward but ultimately likeable outsider - CHECK!
A formulaic plot that has AK's character getting accustomed to his new normal and coming face-to-face with his own flaws, and then respecting those who he didn't in the beginning - CHECK!
A subplot dealing with 'parent problems' - CHECK!
A forced and *mostly* pointless love story - CHECK!
A near constant stream of sharp, hilarious, well-written dialogue - CHECK!
Boundary pushing humor on awkward topics - CHECK!
Well-made but slightly forgettable musical numbers peppered throughout the story - CHECK!
AK's signature smile - CHECK!
"Doctor G" lures you in with the promise of being a traditional AK social commentary cum comedy, and expertly fulfils that promise within the first hour.
What sets "Doctor G" apart from the rest of AK's work is that instead of trying to stretch the story thin - like in "Dream Girl" - by repeating the same plot points but only slightly differently, the movie suddenly shifts from a comedy to a fast-paced, intense thriller. This is achieved seamlessly unlike other films that do this like "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "Predator", for even after doing a complete 180, the second half still feels like a logical continuation of the story set up in the beginning.
Finally, the initial 'forced, pointless love story' is given a purpose with AK learning that he does not need to end up with 'the girl' and should just remain friends with her. This is a refreshing change from the norm. This was a trope that I was eagerly waiting for AK to tackle from his first movie. The relationship between the 2 main leads is an incredibly complex, nuanced one that is rarely seen in Bollywood.
"Doctor G"'s appeal can be described with the line - 'a change from the norm'.
It is a change from AK's trademark formula.
It is a change from the tropes of traditional Bollywood movies.
It is a change I welcome with open arms.
Final Rating - 80/100.