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Together: A Crashing Bore Masquerading As A Marital Masterpiece!
Together: A Crashing Bore Masquerading As A Marital Masterpiece
Starring James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Rating: * ½
Together(Amazon Prime) Movie Review: I should have been warned by the utterly fake fireworks that Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor threw at one another in director Doug Liman’s lockdown marital crisis film Locked Down last year.
Some misguided sense of optimism propelled me towards another slugfest between two very talented actors posing as a couple on the brink of breakup during the lockdown.
Now, I must confess I am not a James McAvoy fan. Although he is unquestionably skilled at slicing through his characters’ monstrous run-ins with self-doubt he remains to me, slightly annoying his sweaty personality,like the Jamaican stunner Lashana Lynch in No Time To Die.
You know, that guy or girl at a party who will come forward and befriend you, tell you jokes you don’t want to hear, fetch you a drink and insist he/she is intelligent enough to give you company?
That’s McAvoy for you. No matter how goodlooking personable and articulate there is something vaguely irritating about such people.I had no problems at all in buying into his screen-wife’s hurled accusations in Together about the husband (addressed simply as ‘He’) being a pain in the ass. In fact as played by the wonderful Sharon Horgan( wasn’t she the life and soul of the series Catastrophe?) the wife’s pungent perspective stuck home because McAvoy seems to be all of what she says he is.
The film is less than 90 minutes in length but seems to go on much longer. Watching a couple fight during the pandemic in the house nextdoor would probably make more sense. You know they are doing it out of boredom. This is London during the pandemic. Extraneous characters and noises are shut out as McAvoy and Horgan shout out to one another with accusations and insults that have a history which we do not really care to know.
Even if we do , their belligerent bickering is unintelligible to the outsider. Admittedly there are passages where the two strong lead players lead us into their characters’ mutual hostility to ferret out that love which bound them together in the past.
Morgan is specially persuasive when she talks about her mom dying in Covid isolation in the hospital. But such episodes where the hefty hostility is halted , are rare. For a large part of the slinging march all we get is impenetrable sarcasm and a growing sense of a doomed marriage and a partnership which has gone into remission during these hard times.
There is also a specially-abled child sauntering around somewhere in the background, not saying a word. How can he? When his parents are so voluble they sound like roosters circling each other during the mating season.
I remember a special child in the brilliant director Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Extremely loud, the couple in Together certainly is. Incredibly close to despair is where they leave us.
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Faraaz : We Are The Champions

Faraaz
Directed by Hansal Mehta
Rating: *** ½
Compared with Hansal Mehta’s other two films on global terrorism ,Shahid and Omerta, Faraaz is a mellower more lenient and forgiving work. It is predominantly a discourse on true Islam and its subversion by terrorists as embodied in the two main characters Faraaz(Zahan kapoor) and Nibras(Aditya Rawal).
The dialogues between the two are sharp and relevant. Most importantly these dialogues never overstay their welcome, hence the film, though largely confined to a café held hostage by a bunch of misguided youngsters, never gets verbose.Instead Hansal Mehta brings in a sense of reined-in anxiety.
The agony of those outside the sealed café, whether the government officials or parents of the hostages(Juhi Babbar Soni, Amir Ali are both superb , though the former has a far more dramatic scope than the latter) is given as much priority as the terrorized hostages inside the café.
Unlike the several 26/11 films, the latest being the Adivi Sesh starrer Major, Faraaz is not too keen on generating thrills out of a real-life tragedy. Hansal Mehta doesn’t edit out the brutality and suddenness of the attack, but he does humanize the young terrorists , specially Nibras, played with compelling restraint by Aditya Rawal S/O the extraordinary Paresh.
In the years to come, young Rawal will be an actor to watch.
Faraaz has a lot of young talent to galvanize the story of one blood-bathed night in a café in Bangladesh . Many young people went for an evening of recreation and conversation. Several never came out. This is the story of one braveheart who said he won’t run for his life without his friends.
It’s a disturbing moving tale of true heroism told with feeling rather than flourish.
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Nutella India signs Bollywood Superstar Ranveer Singh to promote the brand across India

Nutella, the original and popular hazelnut cocoa spread brand of Ferrero, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sweet-packaged products, has signed Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh as its brand endorser for India market.
By coming on board as a brand representative for India, the superstar will promote the Nutella brand across digital and offline marketing channels as well as be an active part of their various campaigns.
Nutella® India made the announcement in collaboration with the pan-India star Ranveer Singh’s social pages through an entertaining video, where the actor is seen engaging in a rapid-fire round on ‘what comes to my mind when….’ and proclaims his love for the brand.
Ranveer Singh comments, “I am excited to announce my association with Nutella®. Nutella® has always held a special place in my heart. I’ve been a fan ever since I was a child and my love for it has only grown over the years. I am stoked to be part of the Nutella journey in India and help bring alive their vision of making tasty breakfast and desserts.”
The Bollywood star, whose love for Nutella is no secret, will be launching the World Nutella® Day celebrations this year with fans.
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Rakesh Roshan: “Everything I Know About Acting & Direction, I Learnt From K Vishwanathji”

The mighty moviemaker K Vishwanath who was to Telugu cinema what Satyajit Ray was to Bengali cinema, passed away on February 2,leaving behind a luminous legacy.
Acto-director Rakesh Roshan who had the rare honour of working in four projects with Vishwanath recalls him with tremendous respect. “Everything I know about acting and direction I learnt from him. He was a stalwart , an institution, and so passionate about his work. I had the privilege of being directed by him in two films Aurat Aurat Aurat and Shubh Kamna. He would show his actors exactly what he wanted, down to the minutest gesture.His understanding of the medium was extraordinary.”
Rakesh Roshan remembers how he invited Vishwanath to make films for him. “I produced two films that Vishwanathji directed. One was Kaamchor, the other was Jaag Utha Insaan.While the first was a runaway success, the second didn’t do well.”
Speaking on how Kaamchor happened Rakesh recalls, “Vishwanathji and I used to meet socially in Hyderabad.We wanted to work together. But we had no script.One evening when we met he looked very depressed. When I asked him what was wrong, he said his new release Shubodayam (in Telugu) had flopped. That night I went to see Shobodayam in a theatre in Hyderabad. The next morning I told Vishwanathji, ‘We’ve found our script’. I told him where the storytelling in Shubhodayam had gone wrong.We corrected the script and that’s how Kaamchor happened. Although the entire story revolved around me, it was Jaya Prada who benefited from Kaamchor.”
About the beautiful Jaag Utha Insaan , Rakesh Roshan admits bluntly, “It flopped because of miscasting. During those days Sridevi was known in Hindi cinema as a glamorous heroine. We cast her as classical dancer. Mithun Chakraborty had the image of Gun Master G-9 and Disco Dancer.We cast him as a downtrodden underdog. I was known for Kaamchor and other citybred characters,I was cast as a Brahmin pandit.With other actors Jaag Utha Insaan would have been a superhit”
Rakesh met K Vishwanath six years ago. “We were shooting for Krissh in Hyderabad. He came on the set several times. We had so much to say to each other. After that we lost contact. He was very very busy with many projects. K Vishwanathji lived for his cinema.”
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As His Latest Work Faraaz Releases Today, Hansal Mehta Speaks To Subhash K Jha On The Exciting Times Ahead

Hansal, Faraaz is your fifteenth directorial venture. How does it feel to have come so far with so many milestones behind you?
I don’t count my films. Genuinely. Every film is a new beginning. Every film has its share of uncertainty and nerves. Perhaps it is also because of the choices I make. There is no scope for either complacency or me carrying a false sense of security. I’m not complaining,though. Living life on the edge keeps me going.
I consider Faraaz to be a part of your great trilogy on the dynamics of terrorism, after Shahid and Omerta…where do you see Faraaz positioned in your creative ambit?
Thank you , Subhash.Faraaz is a film I’m very, very proud of. It was a challenge to pull off, a tough journey but creatively a very satisfying one. As Rajkummar Rao told me after watching the film , the Trilogy is complete now. Time to explore new stories and new characters. And finish post-production for all the exciting things that we shot for over the past eighteen months.
Out of curiosity which of your films have given you the most creative satisfaction?
Almost every film Shahid onwards has been immensely satisfying , both in terms of process and the outcome. Save a couple that I need not name. But even those I own for all their flaws, failures, deficiencies and redeeming qualities. But Faraaz has been a great process. I’ve made so many new friends in this journey and found some of the most exciting colleagues that I’m proud to introduce through the film. Writers Raghav Kakkar and Kashyap Kapoor (who co-wrote the film with Ritesh Shah), Cinematographer Pratham Mehta, Sound Designer Mandar Kulkarni, Editor Amitesh Mukherjee, co-producers Sahil, Maz and Sakshi – all of whom have given their blood and sweat to make this film happen. And of course Anubhav Sinha one of my oldest friends in the industry who backed me in telling this story just the way I wanted it. So yes, Faraaz has been satisfying and also filled me with a deep sense of gratitude. I must have done something right, no?
Of course. Faraaz has a lot of young new actors in it. Tell me about the process of casting in this film? It couldn’t have been easy since there are dozens of faces?
That was the challenge and the joy of making this film. I worked on the story during Chhalaang and I always knew that it would be a return to my indie roots for Faraaz. The film had to be made. And it needed fresh faces, bereft of image or trappings of stardom. A huge credit to Mukesh Chhabra who has a huge role to play in my filmography since Shahid. We constantly challenge each other and never ever give up. Casting is a process I really enjoy and finding the right talent to bring characters alive is something I thrive upon. Faraaz has an amazing ensemble. Right from Aditya Rawal , Zahan Kapoor, Juhi Babbar to every small character in the film including the officers, parents and the hostages this one is a triumph of honest casting , casting without an eye on profits, simply in service of the film, of the character.
Faraaz is about a terror attack in Bangladesh?how do you respond to those who want to know, why Bangladesh?
In our research of this dastardly attack we realised that here was a story that had a larger message and something very universal to share. Misguided youth taking up violence in the name of religion or a parent’s love for her child or the unexpected bravery from an unlikely hero are themes that cannot be limited by borders, nationality or language. These stories must be told. They must transcend the limitations of perceived local relevance – particularly when our polarised times need such stories to be told to a larger audience.
In 2020, your OTT series Scam 1992 proved to b e game changer. Do you see Scam as a turning point in your career?
I see Scam 1992 as an enabler. We did not expect its humongous success and to say it did not change things would be fake humility. It gave me back a lot of things I had lost in the years before it released. Including some money. And the courage to tell the stories I desperately wanted to. Also exceptional friends and collaborators like Sameer Nair and his Studio Applause.
Your films and your attitude to cinema has always been fearless. How do you cope with the threat of growing intolerance in our society vis a vis your convictions as a filmmaker?
It is not new to me. Remember Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar in 2000? The only difference now is that then I was deeply affected by the intolerance to a point of self destruction. Now I channelise my despair and anger into telling relevant stories and through them taking on those who have made it a business to be intolerant.
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