Tag Archives: Nani

HIT: The Second Case

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HIT1 introduced us to the Homicide Intervention Team and investigator Vikram Rudraraju, and I was hopeful that HIT2 would reveal more of his back story. But instead we have a completely different case, in Vizag this time instead of Telangana area, and a new investigator Krishna Dev (Adivi Sesh). I didn’t enjoy this film as much as the first one and I definitely missed Vishwak Sen, but HIT2 has a few suspenseful moments and the investigation twists keep the film interesting.

The action takes place in Vizag where Krishna Dev (aka KD) has a new boss, DGP Nageswara Rao (Rao Ramesh), but not much excitement in his cases which he describes as being committed by stupid criminals. In the opening sequence he solves a murder in just a few minutes, much like the beginning of HIT1 where just a few clues allow for some major jumps in investigation and an easy solve of the case. At the start of the film, KD also asks his girlfriend Aarya (Meenakshi Chaudhary) to move in with him, and again, everything is smooth and easy. She moves in, her mother (the excellent Dhaasshyam Geetha Bhascker) comes to stay and even though she does not approve of the live-in arrangement, doesn’t cause any major arguments. The romance mainly plays out in a song and Aarya seems to only be added to the film to give KD another potential victim to try and protect. Just to make this even more obvious, Aarya quickly falls pregnant, giving KD another reason to keep her safe. There is little passion or emotion between the two and generally KD seems rather cold to everyone, which makes this part of the story seem rather clinical and formulaic. Basically, there is a murder, clues are left behind and KD works to put everything together and find the killer. The addition of Aarya and her unborn baby should have been the key relationship to add emotion and drama, but there just isn’t much warmth here.

The second case starts when a young woman is found murdered at a bar, and KD is brought in to investigate. Her head, torso and limbs have all been severed, and although the head is immediately identified as the bar manager, Sanjana (Anu Varna), forensic investigation reveals that the torso and limbs belong to different women. KD has not only to find the killer, but also needs to identify the other victims, with only a bite mark, a club stamp and some shoe prints as clues.

Still following the beats of the first film, KD has a potential antagonist to work with and this time it’s his subordinate Varsha (Komalee Prasad). The pair apparently have history (although the specifics aren’t revealed) and on learning of her appointment to his team, KD immediately tells her she annoys him and quickly dismisses her. But aside from ignoring Varsha for most of the first half, there is no significant friction between the two and Varsha copes well with her arrogant boss. Abhilash (Maganti Srinath) who was Vikram’s rival in the first film appears here as well, visiting Vizag to get some help with a case in Hyderabad. There are links back to HIT1 and some of the events with Vikram, giving some hope that perhaps Vikram’s story will get some resolution in subsequent films.

There is little suspense in the investigation until the second half, when KD and Varsha find a potential link and start to discover the identities of the other victims. They find a suspect and there is an encounter scene which ramps up the tension while Sanjana’s friend Rajitha (Divya Narni) and Aarya are both threatened by the killer, adding to KD’s problems. But the finale is a bit of a let down, with a protracted torture scene and plenty of blood and gore that still doesn’t pack much of a punch. Perhaps it’s the contrived fight scene at the start, or rather formulaic denouement, but the only character I was worried about during all the bloodshed was KD’s dog Max, who has a fairly significant role to play at the end.

Part of the problem I had with the film was the character of KD who appears arrogant and entitled for much of the first half. His behaviour to Varsha is particularly obnoxious without having any backstory to account for his attitude. KD also seems to treat Aarya like a possession, and for all his modern theory about wanting to live together before marriage to check that they are suited, it all comes across as tediously superficial. There is little warmth to their ‘romance’ and Aarya could have been replaced by any other possible victim for KD to react in much the same way. Adivi Sen is fine in the role of KD, but the character is just quite unlikeable, which makes it difficult to care about what is happening. Komalee Prasad fares better as Varsha and gets to show that she can be a good investigator when given the chance. Hopefully she will return in the third case.

Another oddity is the character of DGP Nageswara Rao who seems to think he’s in an American cop show. He’s antagonistic towards JD, tries to hush up various parts of the case and generally seems corrupt, but without having any rationale behind any of his actions. It’s an odd note in an otherwise fairly straightforward police procedural, and I’m really not sure what Sailesh Kolanu was aiming for. Also incredibly frustrating is a number of written clues that appear onscreen without any subtitles. There is a message left behind for JD and clues in newspapers, but these are all written in Telugu and while JD does discuss them with his colleagues, they don’t talk about what they say. While eventually it’s possible to work out what is going on, it’s annoying not to be able to understand what some of the key pieces of the puzzle actually are.

While HIT2 definitely benefits from Sailesh Kolanu’s experience making the first, the story here isn’t as gripping or the characters as immediately sympathetic. It’s still a fairly solid drama and I have hopes that the third case will be the best yet. 3½ stars.

Jersey (2019)

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I managed to see Jersey in the cinema when it first released in April last year, but I’ve been waiting to watch it again and until recently I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere online. However, it’s now available on YT in a Hindi dub, which although not ideal is good enough to remind me of what I enjoyed the first time round, so finally, here are my thoughts on the film.

Jersey tells the story of a cricketer, Arjun (Nani) and his struggles to succeed at his chosen profession, but the film is more than the usual under-dog sports story. The film also explores relationships, the challenges associated with becoming an elite sportsperson later in life and more broadly looks at second chances. At the ripe old age of 36, Arjun has a wife, a young son and bills to pay, which is what initially sparks his return to competition cricket. Once he gets back into the game though, his passion for cricket takes over, but there are numerous obstacles to his success. Not the least of these is the question of whether Arjun has the physical stamina to be a professional cricketer at an age when most are contemplating retirement.

This isn’t a film where you have to know a lot about cricket or even enjoy watching the game to fully engage with the film. While the cricket sequences are beautifully, and realistically shot, the film is more about the passion Arjun has for the game and how this affects his relationships with everyone around him. To understand Arjun’s story there is a flash-back sequence to 1986, which shows him as a confident and successful cricketer at the top of his game. Life is going well, he’s in love with Sarah (Shraddha Srinath) and is on track to win a place in the India team. But when his place is taken by someone with better connections and a larger bribe, the disappointment shatters Arjun’s world and despite his coach Murthy (Sathyaraj) urging him to try again next year, Arjun vows to leave the sport for good.

Ten years later, Arjun is in financial strife due to an enforced absence from work from a union related issue. His wife is frustrated and angry with his disinterest and general apathy for life, while his son Nani (an excellent Ronit Kamra) is pestering him for an Indian cricket jersey for his upcoming birthday. Without cricket Arjun has lost his zeal for life and without a career and unable to provide for his family, his world has become very bleak indeed. Desperate to please his son, Arjun plays a charity match but still doesn’t manage to raise enough money for his son’s birthday present. But once he starts playing, despite his age and various set-backs, Arjun is determined to make his comeback as a successful cricketer.

This is a very human story, and writer/director Gowtham Tinnanuri fills Jersey with heart and emotion while still keeping events moving along. The two components, the cricketing journey and the various relationships, complement each other well and the film benefits from Nani’s superb performance as Arjun. Initially he’s impetuous and brash – a typical young man who has the world at his feet and knows it. Later, he completely captures the heartache and depression that comes with Arjun’s failures in life and contrasts this with the passion and excitement that comes with his second chance at success. What stands out is just how believable he is in the role and how quickly Nani pulls the audience into his world. There is a moment where the older Arjun learns he has made the Hyderabad team and his celebration as an older player is a perfect contrast with his exuberance as a younger player. It’s also a pointed comparison between the older Arjun being selected and the younger not making it into the India team. I also liked the way the relationship between Ramya (Sanusha) and up and coming cricketer Nandan Reddy (Viswant Duddumpudi) mirrors the earlier romance between Arjun and Sarah and provides another link between the events of 1996 and 1986.

Central to the story is Arjun’s relationship with his son. The jersey of the film title is the India shirt that Nani wants for his birthday, but which is much too expensive for Arjun to buy.  Ronit Kamra is excellent in the role of Arjun’s son and there is such good rapport between him and Nani. This feels like a true father/son relationship and there is plenty of warmth and emotion in every interaction. Nani’s hero worship of his father is the only positive part of Arjun’s world and it’s beautiful to watch Arjun develop as a father in response to his son’s expectations. The flip side is the father/son relationship between Arjun and his coach Murthy, who has always acted more like a father to him. Both relationships are well written and expertly performed by all involved and I enjoyed finding the similarities and the differences in both relationships.

Also pivotal to the story is Arjun’s wife Sarah and Shraddha Srinath is excellent in the role. Her portrayal is realistic, particularly when faced with a husband who seems unable to do even the smallest of tasks around the home. She perfectly captures the exasperation and hurt of dealing with someone she loves who appears to be self-destructing before her eyes without ever seeing that she is struggling to cope as well. It’s such a true to life scenario and Shraddha gets all those complicated emotions across in her performance. The romance is also sweet and nicely developed although there is a fight sequence between Arjun and his fellow teammates about Sarah which does seem rather pointless and unnecessary. 

While the story of Arjun’s comeback works well and the various emotional rollercoaster moments follow a reasonably predictable beat, the end has a twist that just doesn’t seem to fit well into the rest of the story. I found this to be a jarring note in an otherwise well-written story that really wasn’t necessary. Like any sports film, the overcoming of adversity is enough in its own right, and when added to the well developed relationships here, nothing else was really required, and in fact the twist detracts rather than adds to the story. But that’s a small grumble in an otherwise very enjoyable movie. I really like this film and wish it was more readily available as I’d happily watch it again. Although I might skip the very end. 4 ½ stars.

Awe

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Awe takes a crack at some familiar material, trying to deliver something new. And it is something new in the context of mainstream Telugu film, far from the usual mass hero driven shenanigans. But it reminded me of a couple of  Hollywood films, and Prasanth Varma is a bit heavy handed and clearly doesn’t want anyone to miss out on his cleverness. This was a film I wanted to love but I was left mildly underwhelmed.

SPOILER ALERT! I want to mention a couple of ideas the film plays with so I will have a few spoilers. But I will leave a few surprises.

Radha (Eesha Rebba) waits at a restaurant with her parents. They’re going to meet her partner, Krish, for the first time. Krish sounds like exactly what her parents wanted for Radha; a doctor, same caste, only child. But Krish is a woman (Nityha Menen). We jump into the story of Nala (Priyardarshi Pullikonda) a down on his luck man trying out for a job as a cook. He is clueless but luckily a wise talking fish (voiced by Nani) is there to help and a talking tree (voiced by Ravi Teja) is there because there weren’t enough comedy uncles in the cast. The episodes spool by. A precocious little girl Moksha (Kaitlyn) has a battle of magic and wits with a rude, overbearing magician (Murli Sharma). A doorman (Srinivas Avasarala) is building a time machine so he can go find his parents. But then the mysterious Parvathi (Devadarshini) arrives from the future to stop him. Mira (Regina Cassandra) is plotting a heist with her boyfriend, and the stress and the drugs she takes trigger interesting hallucinations or maybe something more sinister. In between the scene shifts to Kali (Kajal Aggarwal), a woman in obvious distress who is waiting for a sign.

The stories and their locations seem unrelated initially so the jumping around was a bit irritating as episodes terminate in a cliffhanger. As the film loops back to pick up the various stories the location and times merge into one quirky looking food court, and the characters start to be seen in each other’s worlds. The set design is kind of shoddy and obviously fake which also puzzled me at first. The morse code device looked like a prop from a low budget school play. But like Pizza, a lot of things make much more sense after a point. It’s a bit risky leaving things looking half baked until that clicks for the audience. If you miss all the hints it is spelled out by the end. The one dimensional characters also make more sense once you realise how they relate back to one particular person and how they colour the way the others are depicted.

Because the story is told in quite a gimmicky way I didn’t feel the actors were all able to rise above the material. Murli Sharma is trapped in a tedious story and not even his wild overacting could get him out of it. Priyadarshi didn’t really hit his stride until the latter part of his story. And no matter how I consider it, I can’t see how the fish and the tree fit into the overarching conceit of the film other than to get some more star names on the poster. Rohini was fun and still heartfelt as Radha’s mum, struggling not to let her disapproval break a vow of silence.. Regina Cassandra has presence and Mira is a challenging role in some respects, being an unlikeable and untrustworthy person. She seems like a misfit in the largely family friendly ensemble of characters but may be the most real.

Prasanth Varma was ambitious in his treatment of a film without a Hero. A bit of research on female psychology and gender would have helped enormously with the execution. Kajal was unusually sombre as Kali and did her best to show the confusion and pain of long term mental illness and emotional damage. Her character made one particular choice that didn’t ring true and a cursory Google would have told the writer to choose something else. But having a happy and openly lesbian couple is such a positive change in representation in Indian films, I can’t whinge too much. And good on Nithya Menen for giving Krish a go. She was cheeky, a bit irreverent, loved the ladies and all in all embraced her namesake as a role model. But Krish’s explanation of why Radha identified as gay was more driven by the plot than any nuanced analysis, overly simplistic but I think well intentioned. There is some truth in saying some women could reduce psychological issues if they spoke up about being assaulted and got help, but there was almost no consideration that the better solution is for men to stop raping women. Everything comes back to women having to save themselves.

It’s a good film but I wanted great. I saw the big reveal coming from a mile away, so I wanted more from the characterisation and the detail of living this life. See it and see what you think.