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Cinema 2026 continues to intrigue me. Having watched two films that were pitiably poor, I thought I should reflect on them together rather than splurge my time writing individual reviews and wasting reader time as well.
‘Dhuroxic Park’, says RGV on the senseless clash
But first, a mention of filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s sharply perceptive quote on the forthcoming Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge and Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups clash on March 19. Says the maverick on X: “The Dhuroxic Park (!!)….it is a battle between David and Goliath.”
The filmmaker stresses that this was not a battle between North and South. “It is a brutal clash between two cultures, not of regions, but of cinema. The principal difference between the two is that #Dhurandhar respects the audience’s intelligence and #Toxic presumes their dumbness.”
He suggests that this is a clash between spectacle-driven, hero-worshipping cinema that relies on exaggerated action, loud cues and inflated budgets, and a more grounded, performance-led storytelling approach that respects the audience’s intelligence and invests in substance over showmanship.
He concludes dramatically, “I am waiting with bated breath for March 19 to know if India is Dhurandhar or Toxic.”
These were my thoughts exactly on the two films, one that speaks fearless truths and the other an orgy of violence inflicted upon the pan-Indian viewer merely because a few such films work, especially KGF2 with the same hero.
But my additional thoughts were: Even if it is only about the moolah, why clash when the other movie as well as your own can earn more if released separately?
Yes, I believe Toxic’s release date was announced earlier, but then Dhurandhar 2’s date was also fixed before the first part released. At that time, no one would have dreamt that the first part would become a blockbuster beyond compare. In view of the ginormous performance of the movie, should not Toxic reconsider by respecting the expectations of the masses who are their very target apart, including fanatical Yash fans?
From TV to the big screen—a cataclysmic descent!
Had watched the film Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai about a month ago. Iconic serials converted into movies with a single, constant story are always tempting proposals and by no means restricted to Indian cinema. But the bottom-line is the scripting. A film writer, given the luxurious long-format indulgence of a serial (or series) may well score high, but the reverse is truly difficult. And a fresh writer may not catch the core of the serial, while the older ones can flounder. Also, the actors should be the same, but even they can go off-kilter.
BGPH, a serial that started off 11 years ago, has had over 2700 shows on &TV and later Z5 and has an iconic following. The sitcom has clean humor despite the basic plot of two husbands both being infatuated with each other’s wives over their own. Add whacky dialogues and crazy side characters and the show has grown in popularity despite a few casting controversies.
The film, titled Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain: Fun on the Run, was exactly antithetic. The humor was an especially pathetic version of the toilet variety (!), the lead characters emerged farcical in the worst sense and the situations were forced and humorless. At a 2.15 hours overlong runtime, one cringed, metaphorically tore one’s hair and just slumped into the seat, waiting for it all to end, optimistically wishing that some great twist would at least undo some of the misery. If wishes were horses…
We earlier had a decent sitcom in Khichdi but there was a terrible follow-up in Khichdi 2. The film version of another sitcom, Office Office, was horrendous as well. And now I am dreading the outcome of the uber-violent Mirzapur: The Movie. In these days when sickening violence and expletives are “allowed” even in cinema, I am truly hoping I am wrong!
Amateurish depiction of a mega-organization
There are many facts we were unaware of in India’s pre-Independence and post-Independence history. Some of them were malicious in intent, others deliberately concealed by vested interests leading to the country misunderstanding or having a warped concept about certain things.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or the National Volunteers’ Union is even billed by Wikipedia as a “paramilitary right-wing organization”. Though undoubtedly founded to instill discipline and purpose among Hindus and to make them united and (even physically) strong, it also grew (aside from fringe elements within it) into a setup that served the country during even acts of God, like tsunami, floods and other happenings. During the tsunami, for example, the RSS voluntarily helped Muslim victims who formed the bulk of those who suffered in that locale.
Shatak, the documentary-like feature (that has a disclaimer that it is not completely factual!!) is an amateurish, lackadaisical (in concept and impact) narration clearly done without any lofty ambitions whatsoever. The title means “century” and the film is purported as a celebration of 100 years of RSS.
The film itself conceals what matters most: that in spirit, the organization works for Indians and not Hindus alone. It uses AI (Lata Mangeshkar is shown as a RSS supporter and recording a song in the 1940s, presumably with Mohammed Rafi) which is actually sung by Madhushree. While flamboyant titles showing the year and locale, the film omits to show important leaders’ names.
Also, while showing the spoken languages Marathi and Bengali, it skips Hindi and English subtitles. There is an overdose of chugging trains’ long-shots for some reason, and technically the film is gawky. The actors are alright but, overall, even at 112 minutes, the movie is an exercise in tedium. The AI versions of people are done well though, but that’s simply not enough to make a film worth the time and money invested in a ticket.
And so far, with collections of O’Romeo said to be massively over-hyped and dismal revenue from Tu Yaa Main, Do Deewane Seher Mein and Assi and not enough web series to relieve the monotony, Hindi cinema had better pull up its socks.
