As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The beauty of this movie is that it is a tragedy and it is all too real. I read reviews from some of the western viewers who found the concept of police taking money unrealistic. Welcome to India where a girl having sex before marriage is considered worse than crime. Things are changing in India but they haven't all changed so it is real. There are some powerful performances from Richa Chadha (Devi), Sanjay Mishra (Devi's father), Vicky Kaushal (Deepak) and above all Shweta Tripathi (Shalu). I am going to start with Shalu. She is a college girl who loves poetry (Shayari) and falls for this boy who she doesn't know very well. She enjoys his physical touch and his company and that is portrayed so well by her. You could see her as that innocent girl next door. She only has a relatively small role in the movie but she does shine.Deepak is young boy who is from a poor family and he is about to complete his bachelors in civil engineering. He has a bright future in front of him but he does carry his family background as a baggage on his shoulders. He falls in love and deeply cares about this girl but he is not sure if he can get her even though she loves him dearly. He does lose her and he portrays the grief astoundingly. You feel bad when he is crying and that is hallmark of good acting. Vicky has that effortless way of selling his character.Devi is another character who you feel really bad about. She falls in love with a boy and decides to make love to her. This act is caught by police and the boy commits suicide and she is told that she has committed a crime. She is not so sure that she has done anything wrong but the society including her father thinks otherwise. She feels trapped and wants to break free but this is not easy in this male dominated society. You root for her and movie stops at the right juncture.Last character I was touched by was Mr. Pathak who is Devi's father. He is exploited by local authorities who are threatening to ruin his daughter. He knows that his daughter hasn't committed any crime but he finds himself too weak to really stand up for her. Instead he tries to cover for her the best he can. He loves his daughter but finds himself somewhat powerless and meekly gets exploited. Sanjay Mishra portrays the helplessness so well.Supporting characters besides the above four were also real. I watched this movie because its writer is Varun Grover who I have started to admire after watching some of his stand up routines. I do see this movie and say to myself that Hindi movies do indeed have a future. There is life beyond multi crore Khan movies. I highly recommend this movie if you don't mind a tragedy. It is not going to be a song and dance routine but is a real depiction of life in many circles.

Tone, Script & Story: Masaan stands for crematorium. The movie moves around two stories, both belonging to people and their lives who live along the ghat of Ganges. The story puts light on many factors. How acting out of curiousity may be wrong. What it takes to save the innocent. The caste factor. Secretly loving someone under shadow of caste difference. How one's father slowly loses his morals. What one learns from things happening around them and the list goes on.Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: Top degree of execution by the counterparts in mentioned area. Music: Music is average. Acting: Justified performances from all the leads.Final Verdict: What I liked was that the movie escalates on idea that, even if disaster strikes, life has a way out.

I have never seen a movie quite like Masaan. The opening scene itself is horrifying and I was left flabbergasted after seeing what was transpiring on screen. None of it felt fake, the performances felt very real, so real that I rooted for the characters and wanted them to make it out of their ordeal.Richa Chaddha and Sanjay Mishra were insanely good. Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi also gave amazing performances and made a solid mark in their debut feature film.The backdrop of Benaras has its own character in the movie. They way its shot and how the story progresses, somehow it appeared as if the movie wouldn't have been this good without the city.Finally, the direction of Neeraj Ghaywan is outstanding and I hope to see more quality cinema such as this from him in the future.Final Verdict: 8.5/10 Another gem of Indian cinema of 2015, with brilliant and raw performances. It would be a crime to ignore it. There is a moderately graphic sex scene in the beginning, otherwise it can be seen with family.

Masaan is a movie basically moving around life of four youngsters, location is Uttar Pradesh there culture,people and mentality the things which shown are damn real and exactly as per situation, hows life changes and you have to accept it, adapt it and also live it with happiness because so much other thing which still remains, how your destiny work around, how people meet by luck, all character play a fair role, how profession come into picture and complexity takes place full of twist and turns, when it seems no choice left but exactly at that time some miracle happens, and you realize "Zindagi abhi baki hai mere dost".