Bollywood Inquiry December 2023: DUNKI, 12TH FAIL, JORAM & THE ARCHIES

December 2023 is arguably the best month for the Indian Cinema. This month Indian Cinema was full of blockbusters, hits and artistically acclaimed films. The ups and downs though remained constant but this month Indian cinema saw something that was never seen before. After the release of Vanga’s Animal, we saw a vibrant clash between the Director and critics boosting PR for both as the divisive strategy always works.

At the same time the release of films like 12th Fail and 2018, many people marked them the potential contenders for Academy Awards from India. The month has been complemented with cinematic choices for almost everybody.

Dunki: The under-understood venture of illegal migration

With an unbroken record for blockbusters,director Rajkumar Hirani is back with his new cinematic venture dealing with the depths of illegal migration that was a pretty prominent problem for several Indians who minted their ways to find a better lifestyle in far away lands. The film bounces back and forth between the late 90s and the present day as it expresses the struggles of Manu Randhawa (Tapsee Pannu), who just ran out of the London hospital and working her way out with immigration lawyer Puru Patel. But as she finds herself helpless, she requests his assistance in connecting her to her ex-lover Hardayal ‘Hardy’ Singh Dhillon. While here in Laltu, Punjab, Hardy gets an unexpected call from Manu, who urges him to help her come back to India through Dunki route.

The film tries to explore the complex momenta of the Donkey route which is most commonly used route for illegal migrations. The film has received mixed reactions as many feel it to have repeated formulas used by Hirani to touch through the feelings of the audience. Which feels true a Hirani had a reputation making art films which touched the hearts of that audience and many would love to rewatch the same films over and over and not get bored.

But this film misses this feeling as we fail it to loose it at the very first watch. We are very much exposed to depths of the film and the need to understand slowly fades away. The film is a one time watch that takes us to the venture the struggles and truth behind the infamous Donkey Road.

12th Fail: The enigmatic return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra

12th Fail a biographical drama sequence written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Jaskumar Kohli and Anurag Pathak and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, marking the return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra behind the camera after the success of Shikara. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has been working on several projects as a producer, but his return as a director has left a mark, even after a initial failure at the theatre the film grasped its pace as soon as it entered OTT, the film got the pace and fame it deserved.

12th Fail is a biopic for  an Indian bureaucrat working in IPS (Indian Police Service). The film tries to take us through the life of IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma and his journey to pass the hardest exam on planet earth UPSC. The film takes us on a journey of his life from a remote naxalite striken village of Chambal to becoming the best in worlds hardest exam. The film most importantly takes us deep into his relationship with then girlfriend now wife Shraddha Joshi.

The is a worthy and must see for this year in Indian Cinema as the surge of action packed mass films, the Indian audience needed something that surged through emotions and 12th Fail did exactly that. It touched the hearts of audience and made them feel the raw emotions rather than boosting their dopamine with all the action packed sequences.

Joram: The Tale of Father Running off the Past

Joram is a National Award winning film by noted independent filmmaker Devashish Makhija. Written and directed by Devashish Makhija, the film marks the second collabration between him and actor Manoj Vajpayee, after working for several notable directors like Anurag Kashyap and Imtiaz Ali.

Joram follows a story of a young father, who after the loss of his wife, his village is stricken by the Naxalites – several people who rebelled are killed. There are some who can take up a weapon while there are many who couldn’t resist and have to leave the village and Joram follows the story of such a father, who just for his son, refuses to rebel and runs his way to the city. In search of livelihood, the father has to go through the worst inhuman scenarios to save his child from any adversaries.

The film deeply constructs the father and son relationship even though the son is nothing more than a small baby but his emotions are still clear through the characters and emotional depth created by the writer. Additionally, audiences don’t need to hear what the baby wants to say or what he talking. At the same time, Manoj Vajpayee has been flawless in ability his communicate his capability to deliver top notch performances one after the other is just masterful. The writing for the film is flawless as it comprehends the emotional depth for every character and helps us understand every reason behind every action of the character. It is a deep charismatic drama that can help us find the depths of human nature.

The Archies: The Absurd Attempt to Attract GenZ

Indian Cinema is evolving slowly from the time when the films were hit because of songs they had, which indeed was good as the songs itself told what the emotions of the character and what the story wanted to tell. But as the film progressed they started focusing on the story and its execution. Giving rise to several filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali, Anurag Kashyap and Zoya Akhtar. Zoya Akhtar who came to limelight after her film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The Archies is a retro drama written by Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar and Ayesha DeVetre is a story adapted from the 90s Indian version of The Archies comics.

The film tries to take us to the world of Riverdale, a mysterious fictional place that was created by the Britishers who stayed in India after the independence of India. The film follows the story of teenagers in Riverdale who have their worlds built on one single island and are unaware of the outer world and how these kids save the park where they played, laughed and cried in their childhood.

The film is pretty badly constructed and the constant jumps between musical and drama sequences just doesn’t make any sense. Also, trying to give out a retro feel, the film exaggerated the feel and tried to make it look like a western but failed it at the same time. This felt like an attempt to attract the Gen Z audience they failed in it at the same time as the story couldn’t develop any emotional connection between the characters and audience.

December has been cool for Indian Cinema as we have seen everything from mass films to emotional dramas to most wage films India has seen. In the surge of new year, we expect new films that would add value to the feel of the month.