After a decline in film openings in theatres in India for months, the releases of Alia Bhatt‘s Gangubai Kathiawadi and Ajith‘s Valimai seem to have made up for the absence of big-screen releases, raking in audiences.
Silverscreen India brings to you, a compilation of reviews of films, which have had theatrical releases:
Gangubai Kathiawadi Teaser Starring Alia Bhatt
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi is a biopic on the late activist of the same name, who fought for the rights of sex workers in the red-light area of Kamathipura, Mumbai. The film is based on journalist and author S Hussain Zaidi and Jane borges’ book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, and traces the life of Gangubai, from a trafficked sex worker to a renowned activist.
The film features Bhatt as the titular character, alongside Shantanu Maheshwari, Ajay Devgn, Seema Pahwa and Vijay Raaz, among others.
Sankeertana of Silverscreen India mentions that one of the most striking qualities of the film is its depiction of emotional minimalism. “The subject provides many opportunities for melodrama, but the writers — Bhansali, Prakash Kapadia, and Utkarshini Vashishtha — do their best not to give in.”
She adds that the film belongs to Bhatt and her performance as Gangubai, and admires Bhansali’s choice to not “give screen-time to the ugliness that is innate to the world the film is set in.”
Anupama Chopra of Film Companion also notes that Bhansali’s manner of portraying the world of sex work and Gangubai would have faltered, if not for Bhatt’s performance matching up to the mark.
“This lyricism couldn’t have worked if Alia Bhatt had faltered. Gangubai is in almost every frame of this film. And the actor’s girlish face is instantly at odds with the character. And yet, with a purposefully lowered voice and carefully modulated swagger, she owns it,” Chopra writes.
She adds that Bhansali’s simplistic style of storytelling lent an empathetic gaze to the film.
According to Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost, “this woman’s (Gangubai’s) overt feminism is what sets Gangubai Kathiawadi apart from the rest of the writer-director’s filmography and from the zillion stories of courtesans, madams and pimps narrated by Hindi cinema from its inception.”
She further calls Bhansali’s treatment of Bhatt in the film, “heartening.” The treatment “that commercial Indian cinema usually reserves for male stars in men-centric extravaganzas: a grand entry, and camerawork that lends a larger-than-life aura to this woman of slight stature.”
All the three reviewers also point out that the film is a sanitised version of Gangubai’s life. Vetticad calls this decision ‘ironic’ since the film itself seems unwilling in digging up truths that may not necessarily have supported this unblemished picture of Gangu and/or would have called for nuanced writing.
Gangubai Kathiawadi has collected over Rs 10 crore on the first day of its release, making it the second-biggest opener among female-led films in India. It is noteworthy that the film achieved this feat despite there still being a restriction of only 50% capacity for theatres in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and others.
The film collected an additional Rs 12 crore on the second day, and took the tally to Rs 22 crore (nett).
Contrary to the reviews and its box office collections, the film has an IMDb rating of 4.2.
Ajith’s Valimai has been one of the most anticipated Tamil-language films that faced multiple delays in its release. The H Vinoth directorial revolves around an IPS officer, who sets out on a mission to hunt down illegal bikers involved in theft and murder.
The film also stars Huma Qureshi and Kartikeya.
For Arunkumar Sekhar of Silverscreen India, while Ajith’s character of a policeman who detests murder makes for a lovely idea, it is wasted in the film. “Ajith’s character arc does not flesh out the human side of the story that was promised at the beginning,” he adds.
He mentions that the difference in treatment of the characters of Ajith and Kartikeya seems baffling, and is the reason the film peters out after its first half.
Sekhar also notes that the film looks like it has two parts in it, and writes, “…one that was shot pre-Covid and one filmed after, with the latter probably deciding the look and feel of the former. A large part of the second half is filled with secluded locations, which were probably sets erected in accordance with Covid protocols.”
Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion, reflects similar sentiments and writes that while the first half resembles a Hollywood cop thriller, the second half is a “tear-jerking Indian style melodrama.”
For Rangan, the resemblance to Hollywood and the investigation works, to an extent. He credits it to the screenplay, cinematographer Nirav Shah, editor Vijay Velukutty, and the locations. But the lack of emotional material allows the action scenes overpower the narrative.
However, Rangan further notes that although the women don’t have significantly different roles, “they all help Ajith in some way. They are not just decorative items.”
Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost notes that while the film subverts the hero-narrative, on one hand, the emotional narrative fails to connect, on the other.
“There’s no space to breathe, and even lesser time to understand its people. The information keeps the viewer engaged but not invested. Even the visuals choose to not linger on faces, and focus more on their actions, robbing any notion of sentimentality,” she writes.
Recommended
Despite its average reviews, the film seems to have garnered a whopping Rs 25 crore on its first day itself and registered the highest-ever opening in Tamil Nadu.
The film has an IMDb rating of 7.8.
Apart from the aforementioned films, Pawan Kalyan‘s Bheemla Nayak and Shane Nigam-starrer Veyil are also currently screening in cinemas.