UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020

alleged that district hospital administered injections which caused her to bleed profusely and lose her child as a result.

Muskan and her child became a victim to the controversial ordinance, though it isn’t the first time in Indian history that a woman had to bear the brunt of atrocious and inhumane legislations. Such events hark back to 

. The constitution act of 1976, amended by 

 during the emergency provided central government with the right to execute family planning programs that led to compulsory sterilization campaign in which millions were incentivised/forced for sterilisation. “

, the family planning program led to millions of men receiving vasectomies. Following several outbursts and protests, the country switched to targeting women through coercion for they were less conducive to retaliation. The 63-minute-long documentary strips away the sheen of what was dubbed by Rajiv Gandhi as, among many things, a means to eradicate poverty, as it provides a vivid narration through the point of view of women who became the ideal target for what turned out to be failed program. Something Like A War, captures several accounts of women who were coerced by the government to undergo tubectomies or receive birth control devices.

In one of her speeches, Indira Gandhi said “

some personal rights have to be kept at abeyance for the human rights of the nation

,” and that is what was practiced during the time. It documents how 

. Salaries were withheld until people found “

” for sterilisation, lies were sold and people were coerced to participate in the drive. Several women died post procedure and many others faced complications as a result of botched surgeries.

Shot with fastidious care, it provides an insight to women’s status in India and underlying patriarchy in the society as a group of women discuss among themselves, their status and sexuality. 

 captures through his lens, the misery, anger and a helpless desire to be heard etched deep within them as they discuss how they are deemed necessary only if they give birth to a male child. Commenting on several other topics such as the 

 around talks about menstruation, with accounts of sexual abuse and women made ashamed of their own body, Deepa Dhanraj exposes the injustice they face. It provides a grim but accurate representation of women in India all while highlighting the various social factors that influenced the reproductive choices they made during the 

 examines, with artistic magnificence, how women were subjected to injustice as the government was deaf to all entreaty in the name of social reform and briefly comments on the insinuated role of women in Indian society.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.

Something Like a War: An Account of Injustice

 (Adarsh Gaurav) rags-to-riches story. The screen adaptation by Iranian-American writer-Director Ramin Bahrani, chronicles his journey from being the son of a rickshaw puller to a successful entrepreneur. This film was released in theatres on 

The film is a commentary on the struggles of India’s working class. It is a satire that divulges the themes of poverty, corruption, class struggle and most importantly, survival. For the first time in a long time, we get an uncensored unromantic depiction of India. 

, contrasts between the rich and the poor, the privileged and the underprivileged through his camera lenses. Forget the sight of ubiquitous cows roaming free on streets or green fields or merry Punjabis and their Bhangra, Carnera presents us a with a 

 with high rises, multiplexes, the rich on one side and villages, tea stalls, the poor, 

The story pans out between 2007 and 2010, a period of rapid change in an India. 

 dares to free himself from his interminable life of servitude. The two-hour long film captures his fight for freedom from the rooster coop that is his life. Being sick of his life on a land divided by castes, uneven wealth distribution and a society driven by systematic violence against the weak, he takes it upon himself to free himself form the throes of tribulation by doing something unspeakable yet he shows no remorse. It is this remorselessness after his seemingly perfect crime that shakes one to his bones.

 captures the lengths that one is ready to go to free themselves from the worst by doing the worst. The plot is intricately weaved with a plethora of characters representing corrupt politicians and police officers, struggling working classes and scenes that sheds light on underlying feudal oppression and patriarchy that is entrenched within the society. It provides us with a vivid depiction of 

the India of Light, and an India of Darkness

The movie is well written and editors do a great job of gliding through the themes of poverty depravity and rebellion. 

 delivering a powerful performance that forces one to sit through an otherwise seemingly underwhelming adaptation. 

 has come a long way from her put on accent days of 

 as she delivers quite a convincing performance as 

 is exceptional as usual in doing his part as an amiable 

. Though one might say that his accent is too put on, he is far from being a glib like Deepika Padukone’s 

Anchored solely by a captivating lead performance by Adarsh Gaurav, the movie despite being a brilliant adaption of the Novel leaves a little more to desire. 

 is entertaining at parts and it does a great job with social commentary and it gives us a scathing glimpse at undocumented parts of India. The plot seems a little underwhelming for a Netflix adaptation yet it poses daunting questions to the viewers like 

Is the only way to escape the rooster coop is to own one

 available now on Netflix, to decide for yourself.

[MOVIE REVIEW] THE WHITE TIGER: A SOCIAL SATIRE OF CHANGING INDIA

Whilst Bollywood is busy remaking movies from the past or pushing the same old guy meets girl- falls in love -goes against the world to be with her- eventually gets married story, 

NETFLIX original multi-narrative comedy-drama

. As multi-narrative movies go, Ludo stands out in the simplicity of its plot. It narrates four different stories which are intertwined in a complex yet easy to follow manner, with 

 binding it together. The movie is exceptionally well structured as at every intersection of the stories the scene serves as a predecessor to the next one. The point at which the four stories converge makes sense and adds to the meaning of the plot going forward, to say the least.

Anurag Basu’s ingenuity is hard to miss as the analogy of the game ludo is quite clever. Used to narrate the four color-coded storylines, with the central character acting as the die, the analogy here is a reference to the life of different characters of the movie. The die is cast when 

 murders a builder in one of the most comedic murder scenes in recent movies. With this, the movie starts, and slowly the plot unfolds. As with many Bollywood movies, at the centre of the plot is a toxic love story. 

 inspired quintessential Bollywood hero, in unrequited love with his high school sweetheart 

), who is now a wife and a mother. He goes to great lengths to help her get her husband out of trouble. (Hey, At least it’s not Kabir Singh!) Then there is the yellow square in the form of 

) who deal with their relationship when they come across a video of them having sex, on an adult website. The red square is held by 

) who is just out of prison. The red is indicative of his sins. He struggles to come to terms with the aftermath of his crimes as he gets a shot at redemption when he finds his estranged daughter in 

) and their underdeveloped love story. The concoction makes for a 2 and a half-hour long hilarious drama that has moments that stand out and some that seem pointless and unconvincing. For the most part the movie is an entertaining watch but it drags for some part too. Moreover, a monologue by Sanya Malhotra’s Shruti tries to force a message which seems a little out of place for a comedy drama.

The ensemble delivers as expected. Pankaj Tripathi is amazing in his portrayal of the funny badass criminal. Rajkumar Rao proves why he is one of the best in the industry with his quirky nervous dance moves, animated expressions, and fluent comic delivery. Abhishek Bachchan is silent for the most part as the script demands and this gives him less room to make mistakes and he quite surprisingly makes an impact as Bittu in one of the most heartfelt scenes of the movie. Inayat Verma is charming as Mini and it seems fair that she advises Abhishek in one of the scenes on what to do as she was clearly in the grasp of what the script demanded of her. Sanya Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapoor share some moments in their romance and they are flawless in playing their part. Rohit Saraf and Pearle Maney with minimal dialogue and screen time leave quite an impression too. The movie is outrageously funny and as far as the ones with interlocking storyline goes the narration makes it quite easy to sit back and enjoy. The end ties all the storyline well. It is visually beautiful and Basu uses the colour palette ingeniously. The characters and props are dressed and coloured accordingly to the colour of the squares they represent. It’s such attention to detail along with credible performances and a rib-tickling plot that makes it an easy recommendation for a weekend.

MOVIE REVIEW: LUDO

 (John David Washington) returns with his girlfriend 

 (Zendaya). While waiting for the reviews to come by he notices 

 looking displeased. What follows is the first of many fights that last throughout the movie’s 106 minutes of runtime. Upset because she wasn’t acknowledged by her partner in his speech at the premiere, 

 lashes out on him and we are left with a study of their crumbling relationship and what led to it. Imagine the scene from 

 have a huge fight that ends with them crying on each other’s shoulder but for 106 minutes straight. That is Levision’s 

 in a nutshell – constant bickering between two people in love, who pause in between to make out/ smoke, which does less to ameliorate than to exacerbate the situation, resuming the interminable spewing of a tirade of abuses against one another. The callous comments and the vehemence of their several skirmishes make one wish that they eschew conversation and at times, they do. Followed by a litany of offenses, the silence in between is filled with beautiful songs saying things we’d like them to say to each other. Songs like ‘

 and many more benumbs the rising tension between them albeit sparsely.

The aesthetic black and white filter is much pleasing in that the monotonous plot replete with lengthy monologues. Moreover, the black and white theme seems to serve a better purpose to hint at 

 disagreement with Film Critics who let identity politics get in the way of assessment. In the longest monologue of the movie, he is outraged by a positive review from a “white lady critic” as he believes she didn’t understand his film at all. Given Levison’s antipathy towards people who don’t understand the movie for what it is, I’ll abstain from commenting on the significance of the black and white theme of it.

What makes this movie worthwhile are the captivating performances by 

. Zendaya displays her prowess with finesse. Tenacious in one frame and capricious in the next, her monologues are driven with fervor. Even her silence screams excellence as we are forced to commiserate with her. David Washington shines in his role as he delivers lengthy monologues throughout the movie. Apoplectic with rage, verklempt with emotions, and subdued by a sense of guilt in the final moments of it, he breathes life into his character.

While being a buoyantly ambitious movie engaging with the intricacies of a relationship, it leaves one asking for more. What it excels at is probing deep into the insecurities, self-doubts, lack of being, and much more that comes out as the bonds grow older in modern relationships. It births a nuanced morbid fascination with minutiae of love as it forces upon us, the arguments between Malcolm and Marie that in moments of its sustained brilliance, connects with the viewer’s heart.

Articles by Md. Saemul Haque Noori

Something Like a War: An Account of Injustice

[MOVIE REVIEW] THE WHITE TIGER: A SOCIAL SATIRE OF CHANGING INDIA

MOVIE REVIEW: LUDO

MALCOLM AND MARIE: UNDERWHELMING YET FASCINATING

Something Like a War: An Account of Injustice

[MOVIE REVIEW] THE WHITE TIGER: A SOCIAL SATIRE OF CHANGING INDIA

MOVIE REVIEW: LUDO

MALCOLM AND MARIE: UNDERWHELMING YET FASCINATING