Tag: indian cinema

Review: Made in Heaven (2019)

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I absolutely adored Made in Heaven.

Made in Heaven follows Karan Mehra and Tara Khanna as they manage their wedding planning business which shares a name with the title of the show. It’s a dark take on the wedding industry in India and the show pulls no punches with showing how grim things can get. From scheming parents to blackmail and bridezillas, each episode shows a different wedding for the company while the characters navigate their complicated personal lives.

Karan is gay at a time when it’s illegal in India and his storyline follows his struggles with being who he is and loving who he wants when it risks jail time. Arjun Mathur was absolutely amazing as Karan, I was in awe. His mother is abusive and homophobic, although thankfully his father and brother are wonderfully accepting. His backstory totally broke my heart (there are a lot of flashbacks to explain the characters’ motivations and secrets) and I really hope we see more of Nawab, a man from his past, in season two. Their complicated relationship requires more screen time!

Tara, on the other hand, is married to Adil, who’s cheating on her with her best friend, Faiza, and constantly belittles her upbringing. He’s far richer than her and reminds her of it when they fight. NOT A GOOD LOOK, ADIL. Adil and Faiza really frustrated me throughout the entire season, but otherwise I adored the entire cast. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to them in season two, honestly. Sobhita Dhulipala stole every scene she was in and made you really empathise with Tara despite the character’s sometimes questionable choices. She’s a new to me actress and she’s definitely a new favourite. She really reminds me of Deepika Padukone, actually.

There’s also Kabir Basrai and Jaspreet Kaur, who work for Made in Heaven and are dealing with complications of their own. Kabir often narrates videos of the weddings and they’re always wonderful observations and really tug at your heart. In particular, the storyline where a woman discovers that her fiancé’s family blackmailed her parents into paying a dowry culminates in a powerful moment where the girl walks out of the wedding. Kabir’s closing refrain was so powerful:

‘That’s all it took to shatter centuries of patriarchy. One tiny moment of courage. […] Our women don’t deserve this. Our women are better than this. And if they only believed that.’

SO MANY EMOTIONS. Honestly, the show makes so many good points about politics and religion. I’m so excited for season two!

Movie Review: Loev (2015)

Published on by R.1 Comment

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Loev (2015) is the story of Sahil and Jai, two friends who meet up when Jai returns to Mumbai on a business trip. Sahil’s boyfriend Alex is driving him insane — and is unapologetically irresponsible, leaving the gas on and not paying the electricity bill — and Jai’s the total opposite. Rich, quiet, together. (Until he’s not.)

Jai and Sahil go on a roadtrip to Mahabaleshwar, and it’s clear that there’s a lot of underlying tension between them. Everything comes to a head when they return to the city and things spiral (badly) out of control.

Loev is very ‘indie’, which I prefer. I’ve a penchant for indie films because they always seem serene, introspective. It’s a movie of long silences and longer looks.

What’s all the more striking is that this film came about not long after the law to criminalise homosexuality returned in 2013 and the director talks about having to film in secret. (As of 2018, this law has since been ruled unconstitutional, but it was in effect at the time of filming.) And yet this isn’t a political film. It’s a film about gay men, each unhappy for a different reason. Each looking for something different.

Loev ends with a tribute to the main actor, Dhruv Ganesh, who died from tuberculosis before the film came out, which is absolutely heartbreaking.

If you like indie movies, LGBT movies, quiet movies, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Warning: rape scene.