Axone (अखुनी)

"Axone (अखुनी)"

Watched Hindi movie "Axone (अखुनी)". This movie is directed by Nicholas Kharkongor. Produced by  Siddharth Anand Kumar and others. Written by Nicholas Kharkongor. Music Papon, Tajdar Junaid. Cinematography Parasher Baruah.

It stars Sayani Gupta, Vinayak Pathak, Adil Hussain, Lin Laishram, Dolly Ahluwalia, Tenzing Dalha, Rohan Joshi. I watched the movie on Netflix with Aditi on 19th Jun 2020.

A group of friends from Nort- East want to celebrate wedding of Meenam. Upasana, one of the girls in the group, is Nepali. They want to surprise Meenam with a NE special dish called Axone (pronounced अखुनी).

Axone is a dish made with pork meat and fermented soya. It has a very pungent odour but is considered a delicacy.

This movie is director's take on the problems they face while trying to cook the dish. Director also emphasizes on the issue of prejudice against North Eastern states, especially girls. 

The movie has all unknown actors, except Sayani Gupta. She is the central character. One really feels empathy for her character. There's always one in the group like her. Other actors also do well. 

The movie doesn't have much in story, so it is slow. Some may find it too slow. 

However,  it's good to watch such off beat movies once in a while. 

Watch if this review interests you. 

What's your number

"What's your number?"

Watched English movie "What's your number?". This film is directed by Mark Mylod. Screenplay by Gabrielle Allan, Jennifer Crittenden. Produced by  Beau Flynn, Trip Vinson. Music by Aaron Zigman. Cinematography J. Michael Muro. The film stars Anna Faris, Chris Evans,  Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Joel McHale, Dave Annabel and Martin Freeman. The film runs for about 2 hours. I watched it on Amazon Prime on 27th Jun 2020 with Aditi.

Ally already had 20 boyfriends. National research shows that girls who have had more than 20 boyfriends remain single. So Ally starts to have a second look at them with the help of her neighbour Colin. It's a bargain. Colin tracks down Ally's boyfriends and Ally helps him out with escaping from his string of one night stands.

Anna plays a girl in search of the right guy with poor judgement and one who listens to others rather than oneself. Chris plays a handsome Casanova who never knew love. Others play supporting roles. 

The movie charts familiar path with little to imagine. No unexpected twists. No surprises. Predictable ending. 

Why is Ally fixated on 'not to exceed' 20 boyfriends when Colin had had more than 300 girlfriends remains a mystery. 

Watch alone. Not suited for Indian family taste due to the concept.  

Choked: Paisa bolta hai ( चोक्ड़ : पैसा बोलता है)

"Choked: Paisa bolta hai ( चोक्ड़ : पैसा बोलता है)"

Watched Hindi movie 'Choked: Paisa bolta hai (चोकड : पैसा बोलता है)'. Directed by Anurag Kashyap. Produced by Kavan Ahalpara, Ajay Rai. Writer Nihit Bhave. Cinematography Sylvester Fonseca. Music Karsh Kale. It stars Saiyami Kher, Roshan Mathew, Amruta Subhash, Upendra Limaye, Tushar Dalvi, Rajashree Deshpande, Uday Nene. I watched this movie with Aditi, on Netflix, on 25th June 2020. The movie is about 1 hour 55 min long.

Sarita, a hard working bank clerk, is fed up with shortage of money and husband who can't hold a job. She discovers continuous supply of money in the choked drainage pipe of her sink. 

How does she use the money? What does she do? Does it change her? How? Are there consequences?

The movie is developed nicely. Almost until 75% the movie is interesting. Then things become a bit irrational and conveniently coincidental. Thus what could have been a very good end, doesn't remain very good. 

Saiyami is grand daughter of legendary actress Usha Kiran. She portrays the character of a Mumbai bank clerk to perfection. She acts well and although she originally looks good, here her beauty aspects are suppressed. Roshan plays good for nothing husband. His character is not likeable but turns likeable in the end. His character draws brownie points due to audience's sympathy for Saiyami. Other actors are all well known Marathi stage and film personalities and they play their roles to perfection. 

Why does the money come through drainage at a designated time? Why Sarita doesn't keep money in locker? Why investigators forget to trace the money from Kolhapur? How a closed shutter in one scene becomes open in next scene? These and such questions are better not asked. 

Watch for Saiyami.