Smile please (स्माइल प्लिज

"Smile please (स्माइल प्लिज)"

Watched Marathi movie "Smile please (स्माइल प्लिज)". Direction Vikram Phadnis. Screenplay  Phadnis & Iravati Karnik. Production Saanika Gandhi, Nisha Sujan. Music by Rohan-Rohan. The film features Mukta Barve, Prasad Oak, Satish Alekar, Aditi Govitrikar, Vedashree Mahajan, and Lalit Prabhakar. The movie runs for about 2 hours 14 min. I watched it on 13th Mar 2020 with Aditi and Mihika.

Mukta, a successful fashion photographer and divorcee, lives with her father in a plush bungalow in Mumbai. Despite Prasad's (ex- husband) efforts, her daughter hates her. One day she is diagnosed with early onset of dementia. 

How bad is it? Is there a cure? How will her daughter respond? How will Mugdha cope with it? How will her family respond? Will there be an angel?

Director has dared to take a very interesting and out of the way topic for a commercial film. The story neither tries to provide solution to the malady nor does it give sermon on how society should react. It simply states the facts and presents a story. 

Mukta's character is central to the story. She is shown as practical person, not overly emotional. One who has not become bitter by divorce and is still friends with her ex. When dementia sets in, she has good days and bad. Mukta excels in the role. I could not imagine anyone else doing this role. When she looses herself, Lalit enters as a temporary guest. His entry turns things around, not dementia - it's irreversible! Lalit plays an interesting character. He is there to give joy to others. Young, handsom, full of life and good natured. He elevates the mood of the household. He justifies his selection for the role. Prasad's character in the movie is opposite of what he was before divorce. But director doesn't bother to illuminate spectators about the reason behind this change. Although he acts well, his character sends mixed signals. This is a discordant note. Satish Alekar is a well known author and playwright. He demonstrates that he is a good actor too. Vedashree does well as the daughter. Aditi Govitrikar is a casting blunder. She can neither act nor can she speak good Marathi? Why was she chosen? Star value? In company of accomplished actors, she is exposed. 

What I liked most is the end of this movie (No, it wasn't the relief!). The movie ends on a high note. Can't think of a better ending. Impactful, realistic and profound. 

Recomend watching. Don't miss it. 

Maska (मस्का)

"Maska (मस्का)"

Watched Hindi movie 'Maska (मस्का)'. Directed by Neeraj Udhwani. Produced by Doris George, Seher Latif, Shivani Saran. Writing credits Ishita Moitra and Neeraj Udhwani. Cinematography Eeshit Narain. Music Raheja Akshay, Mickey McLeary, Ketan Sodha. It stars Manisha Koirala, Jawed Jaffri, Shirley Setia, Nikita Dutta and Prit Kamani in lead roles. Boman Irani makes a guest appearance. I watched this movie with Aditi, on Netflix, on 28th March 2020. The movie is about 1 hour 50 min long and was released in 2020.

Romi is son of Diana and Late Rustom, Parsi bakers and owners of Irani cafè. Diana wants Rumi to take over the cafè but Romi wants to become an actor. It's a fight between Bun Maska and acting.

Will he succeed in acting? Will he run the cafè? What will he succeed in? What will he choose?

The story is not new. Old Vs New theme is not new. Here the story has the back drop if Irani cafè. It's steeped in Parsi culture. The typical Mumbai Parsi community and Parsi gujarati language along with old South Mumbai give it a nostalgic feeling. Two lady protagonists are representation of the dilemma that Romi is facing. 

The movie starts on a promising note, but about half way it starts to wobble. The pace becomes uneven and story slides down considerably. The end appears hasty. The change of heart appears sudden. Director doesn't reap rewards of the good work done in the beginning. 

Manisha Koirala, as Diana, does a good job as typical old Parsi lady. Jawed Jafri, as dead Rustom, does well in his limited role too. Nikita plays the role of wannabe heroin fervently. Shirley, as Persis, looks cute, but needs to concentrate more on acting. Her hairstyle for the film is awful. Prit, as Romi, looks confused, acts confused. Not sure if it's the actor or the act. But nevertheless he needs to improve. 

Except the last song, you don't remember the music. Cinematography is good. It takes you to night time South Mumbai and Irani cafè. 

Watch if you have nothing better to do during lock down.