A Murderous New Year, The Thursday Murder Club Book Review, Only Murders in the Building, Hotstar series review.

The New Year 2022 viewing and reading started quite murderously this year. It just so happened that the series we started watching on Hotstar (Only Murders in the Building) and the book I picked up to read (The Thursday Murder Club) coincided at the same time. Was it my subconscious seeking an escape from reality after the end of the holiday season? Or just the desire of some comfort murder mystery through once again a stuck-at-home Omicron January? Because a classic who-dun-it story-telling is that all-time fail-safe genre, to which nothing else comes close.

Starting with Richard Osman’s record-breaking bestselling first novel (published 2020), #TheThursdayMurderClub. I’ve had my eye on this for a while and when his second in the series was released a few months ago (The Man Who Died Twice), I knew it was time for me to start the first. Set in an upmarket retirement village off London, the story is about a group of sixty and seventy-something seniors, who past their prime, get together to form the Thursday Murder Club, self-appointed sleuths investigating murders from the past and indeed, murders in the present that come knocking in their neighborhood. Through a series of characters, twists and turns, and more than just a single murder, the Club finally solves the mystery before the police can, and nail their presence as the best crime-solving sexagenarians and septuagenarians, this side of London.

The reason why this book is enjoyable is not because of the intriguing plot with a never-could-guess reveal at the end. Even though the mystery is interesting and not predictable. No, this is clearly not an Agatha Christie. The reason why the book possibly became such a best seller is because of bringing two otherwise completely contrasting worlds together. The world of a British retirement village and the world of crime and detectives is not something one would expect to see enmeshed with each other. But, it is this very cocktail that Osman masterfully creates, that hits the spot.

We see ourselves warming up to these irresistible oldies, who despite their age-related handicaps, are driven by a common mission to find the killer and solve the mystery. The four characters of the Murder Club - Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron - are built nicely, each with their unique personalities, and back-stories, complete with a lifetime of both joys and sorrows. Osman strikes a fine balance between keeping a light and humorous touch to the aging cast of the book, while still maintaining the dignity, the respect, and the love we all are familiar with our own parents and grandparents. Even as we’re engrossed in finding out who-dun-it, we also enjoy the flow and texture of the novel, which is like sipping a warm cup of tea, in the British countryside. Will be checking out the second in the series soon.

If The Thursday Murder Club is a cup of tea, Only Murders in the Building is a tall cappuccino in your hand. If the best-selling fiction novel made heroes of oldies just doing and enjoying their oldie life, the critically acclaimed series makes heroes of oldies almost denying their age and going all out youth sleuth mode. Like Osman’s book, this Hulu original also brings together two contrasting worlds in the service of solving a murder mystery. Again like the book, this 10-episode series also has a nice unpredictable mystery, with a merging of death in the past and a crime in the present. But Osman’s book is British to the core, set in contemporary London, yet with an evocation of a past nostalgia. And the Hotstar series is American, or rather New York to the core, set in contemporary Manhattan, in the posh Upper West Side apartment building, the Arconia, with an action-packed life of a multitude of variety of singles- the bitter, the cynical, the self-obsessed, the loners, the artists, the ex-stars, the maladjusted and the wanna-be’s.

Only Murders in the Building is a thoroughly enjoyable classic who-dun-it, starring the legends Steve Martin and Martin Short and I suppose kind-of-a-teenage-legend, Selena Gomez. Three single and unlikely individuals, who get together, only because of their love of crime podcasts and an opportunity that presents itself to solve a murder that’s just happened in the building. Every episode brings a new twist and turn, till they finally almost don’t solve the mystery and then they finally do. Or do they? The storytelling is absolutely delightful, that mingles a Broadway theatre dramatization with the episodic engagement of a Podcast, as the 3 protagonists indeed make their detective work into a live “Broad-cast”.  The chemistry between Steve Martin and Martin Short is a complete joy and reminiscent of the Father of the Bride series. As well-past-their-prime sexagenarians, they deliver a fantastic performance that is both funny and endearing. Selena Gomez is a discovery, playing her silent, cynical, judging, Gen Z foil to the two over-the-top boomers. A highly recommended watch. Just good old simple and engaging storytelling. The way it should be.

As the deliciously murderous January ended, February hasn’t so far created a stir. But I see Kenneth Branagh’s next Poirot (Death on the Nile) is out in theatres. Looks like we need to give a murderous end to February too. What say?

Gehraiyaan, 2022 - Movie Review

One of the most awaited Bollywood big-name-big screen films premiering in an OTT-near-you. A big attractive star cast, no less than everyone’s heartthrob Deepika Padukone, new popular kids in town, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Pandey, recent newcomer Dhairya Karwa (seen before in Uri, and ’83). A big production house, no less than Dharma Productions and Amazon. And one of the more promising directors of recent times, Shakun Batra (who gave us the absolutely fantastic Kapoor and Sons, 2016, and refreshingly light rom-com Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, 2012).

In short, the film has all the ingredients for making a really good recipe for a film. So, how does the final dish taste?

Like the title of the movie, the answer to the question lies in the depth of it. And like the film, it’s not a straight answer.

First, the plot. This revolves around Alisha (Deepika), in a steady relationship, in a typical Mumbai striving life stage with her long term boyfriend (Dhairya), trying to get a business, career, and life going, facing the ups and downs of making it and not making it, continuously haunted by a troubled childhood past and family relationships. Getting together with her once-bestie-but-now-distanced cousin, Tia (Ananya), and her fiancé (Zain, Siddhant) one weekend in their old childhood home in Alibaug, triggers an instant attraction and an ongoing hidden relationship between Alisha and Zain. From then, it’s a roller coaster ride of a newfound passion and love on one side and the pragmatic realities of current relationships and each of their individual businesses-in-the-making, on the other. Add to that their collective troubled family history that continues to play a shadow on Alisha’s mind. And the web of an uneasy, anxiety-ridden emotionally charged quadrangle of love-past-business-darkness gets deeper and deeper.

The film does a fabulous job of capturing today’s very real urban millennial “quarter-life-crisis” life stage. We see the sights and sounds of Mumbai life as the backdrop for the everyday struggles of the average youth trying to hack it in a complex no-rules society, where everyone is on their own, figuring out their present, overcoming their past, and desperately trying to write their uncertain future, both professionally and personally. The frustrating attempt of trying to get control of a time and a life that is fundamentally out of their control is a poignant comment of our times, and perhaps a foregone conclusion of inevitable heart-breaks and mind-fuck consequences. This is no longer a world of happy endings. Welcome to Bollywood 2022. And for that, we applaud the coming of age of mainstream Hindi cinema. 

Then, it is this narrative that is played brilliantly by Deepika. She looks and acts like a mature actor, who has grown and become more beautiful in her talent. She looks great too, by the way. Alisha’s character is written really well, and Deepika does justice to it, by playing it to the tee. Her dialogues, her face, her body language, and her silence all act together to give a complete performance of Alisha, who becomes the central character through which we view the entire story. This is Deepika’s film and one of her finest performances. An utter delight to watch her.

And then there is Naseeruddin Shah, as her estranged father, who, although in only a few scenes, lifts those scenes and in fact the overall story through his sheer genius talent. One of the last scenes is a tender moment between Alisha and her father, which probably is the ‘frame’ scene of the film, that you could argue, makes the entire film.
And, oh, the soundtrack is fab too. Great to see some good Bollywood music with new artists after a long time.

But that’s probably it. 

Ananya Pandey, as Alisha’s young and more innocent cousin, is not bad and carries her role. And Dhairya, as Alisha’s (ex-) boyfriend plays his part too. But the biggest disappointment comes from Siddhant Chaturvedi, as Zain, the other critical character that is responsible for making or breaking the film. And he breaks it. To be fair, Zain’s character itself is not written half as well as Alisha's. It’s like the writer spent all his time on Alisha and just fitted Zain conveniently into the story. And as the plot gets darker, Zain’s character meanders and evolves unconvincingly, leaving us a little cheated and annoyed at having invested our emotions in him. And on top of that Siddhant does a poor job of performing the role. He is not convincing as Alisha’s lover, or as the ambitious millennial start-up entrepreneur, or as a ruthless businessman, or as a cheating boyfriend. Perhaps a more talented actor like Ranbir or Ranveer, or Ayushman would have saved the role and the film. What a pity. After rocking it in Gully Boy (https://books-booze-boxoffice.blogspot.com/2019/02/gully-boy-film-review.html), we were really rooting for Siddhant. But alas.

Trying to steer away from the stereotypical Bollywood happy entertainment, the film perhaps veers a little to the other extreme. This is not a feel-good film, but a feel-bad film, and for most of the movie, we feel like we also need the Valium that Alisha is popping in her mouth every day. This creates a less-than-great watching experience, especially when we don’t feel convinced of Zain, his motivations, and the resulting negative consequences that are making us feel bad in the first place. The film goes through twists and turns and sometimes unnecessarily so, tagging us along, and draining and stretching us, in not very good ways. As a result, we feel bad without really a reason to feel bad. Shakun, we have seen you break the stereotypical feel-good Bollywood format and yet give us an extremely loveable and enjoyable film in Kapoor & Sons. You know how to do that. What went wrong here?

All in all, it’s worth a watch, especially if you’re a Deepika Padukone fan, because she is all there is to the film. And for seeing the evolution of a potential new genre of films in mainstream Bollywood (should we call it OTT Cinema?). There is also a beauty in the over-arching message for our times, of the need to accept our past, give ourselves second chances, and keep moving, one day at a time, without necessarily counting on a happy ending.

But overall, the film itself falls below expectations. That’s unfortunately the gehra sach!