New Delhi: After the Afghan Interior Ministry confirmed that the Taliban had entered the capital Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani is reportedly in immediate talks with Special Envoy Salma Khalilzad and NATO officials. A senior official at the Presidential Palace in Kabul was quoted as saying by Reuters. Ghani’s government has reportedly held talks with the Taliban over the peaceful surrender of Kabul.
The official confirmation came after the media reported, citing eyewitnesses, that terrorists had entered the city from all four sides. Afghanistan has been completely taken over by the Taliban since the capital was captured by terrorists.
But the Taliban said in a statement that it was not interested in fighting in the populous city of Kabul and had instructed its fighters to wait at the entrances. People do not have to flee. The government must be prepared for a peaceful transfer of power.
The Taliban has warned security forces not to escalate the conflict and to be prepared to withdraw. The Taliban said in a statement that talks were underway to secure the transfer of power without endangering the lives, property, and dignity of the people.
•ONE WORD: Giving the viewers a battle to skip, a pathetic war movie.
•STORY IDEA:
The story starts during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, IAF airstrip at Bhuj was attacked by the Pakistan Air Force leading to several killings and disasters. Vijay Karnik (Ajay Devgn) is charged as the commanding officer so substantially with the help of 300 women he and his mates reconstruct the runway of the airbase within a single night. This mode of act proved the love and devotion of the citizen for the country and also lead to winning the war. The movie ends with the Indian army successfully defeating the Pakistan army.
•DETAIL REVIEW:
The movie is directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya who also wrote the written works. Along with him Raman Kumar, Ritesh Shah, and Pooja Bhavoria join in the writing also the additional dialogues are written by Manoj Muntashir. The movie is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Ginny Khanuja, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak, Bunny Sanghavi, Vajir Singh, and Abhishek Dudhaiya. The film comes under the production companies of T-Series, Ajay Devgn FFilms, and Select Media Holdings LLP. The cinematography is by Aseem Bajaj and the editing is by Dharmendra Sharma. The movie is currently streaming through Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
To make a war movie is a difficult task and if it's a periodical one it's more difficult therefore overcoming the challenges and bringing out a promising periodical war movie can be done only by good makers. So Bhuj: The Pride of India is a lesson for those who are aiming to make a war film, this film proves and gives a moral on how a war film should not be made. The entire film was a complete mess with poor direction, weak writing, and bad visual effects. Even though the film is only having a length of 01 Hour and 53 minutes the viewers won't engage within the film, also the movie was dragging very much and was testing my patience to skip forward. The movie is very much rich with the routine formula that we can found in spy and war films and also many unrealistic scenes were filled to get bored. The makes of this film are the ones who had spoiled a great story and this movie as a tribute to the real-life incidents had turned out to be disastrous.
More than positive factors negative things are served by this messy film. The direction of Abhishek Dudhaiya who had previously directed and produced many Indian Serials had done a great job to make this movie absurd and meaningless. His atrocious direction was killing a potential plot from the very beginning and the final result is just absurd. The ideas and thoughts he gave for the movie haven't worked out as per his plans and it's evident by the way of his execution. Many imperfections and mistakes were overflowing, the style of his direction was seeing like a big-budget drama on stage. The overdramatic stuff he had brought on his making was turning out into cliches. From the beginning, the film turned out to be confusing, the introduction battle was shown out very miserably without a proper sinking and connection to the incident also the shoddy VFX was killing the visual experience. The beginning was also having too many incidents with subplots so the connecting factors to the actual plot were directed inadequately leaving many confusions and one can't feel or realize what is currently happening.
The writing of characters was very bad, none of the characters was having the right depth, most of them doesn't create an influence so that while watching I was not getting any connection with the characters, with their life and with their aims. The character of Sonakshi Sinha was crucial but the way the writer had written it was complicated, the particular character was having many important roles to create an impact as a women village leader but all her dialogues, looks, and attitudes were organized tediously which sadly failed to create a punch. Her introductory scene of killing a leopard using a knife with bare hands even by holding a crying child was rubbish and senseless to watch. Next to the role of Pranitha Subhash, the wife character of Ajay Devgn, still wondering for what purpose the writer had made this character. Not even a single dialogue was given to her, she was only having the space to have a nasty dance with Ajay Devgn and also to show some desperate and happy looks. Next, the character of Sanjay Dutt, who works for the RAW, comes suddenly and goes suddenly, no proper detailing was given for the character. In the climax, he is surrounded by hundreds of Pakistani army officers and he easily kills all of them with an axe, he doesn't get any hurt or wounds, finishes everyone with his tough looks. The regular formula of boosting the stardom of Sanjay Dutt was successfully shown by the director. Another cliche is before the battle the lead actors passing the brave dialogues for themselves and aiming to cheer others was funny to watch. Next is actor Ammy Virk's plane get hit and crashing on the sea and he rises up without any injuries and acting as nothing had happened was amateurishly written. Also, the next day he walks alone without anyone's help and is found to be at the airbase to catch a Pakistani spy was shown pathetically. Finally, the character of Ajay Devgn, even though a film is bad he carries his responsibilities perfectly to make the movie watchable but sadly his screen presence had also not helped the movie from sinking. His presence was not having any sort of depth, the impact to create to wow moment was missing, his cliche dialogue was disastrous. There is a scene in the climax where a plane without having front tires targeting to land safely by carrying it on the back of the truck where Ajay Devgn is driving is having a dialogue before the beginning in which he says “A Maratha only knows two things: to kill or be killed”, was shocked to see this funny cliche and overdramatic dialogues. Also, the routine pattern of over boosting the bravery of main actors was compressed unwantedly.
The screenplay suffers from many complications, as mentioned earlier the written characterization for the actors had failed miserably. Next is the portrayal of emotions especially patriotism, the character of Nora Fatehi is a great example. Pakistani soldiers killing her brother by finding out that he is a spy and eventually she turning into a soldier to seek vengeance for her brother and also to serve the county was unfavorable for the moving pace. Just like we saw in Razi of Alia Bhatt, here Nora is also living as a wife of a Pakistani soldier. Like the real and usual pattern, soon her husband finding out that she is a spy and she kills him to survive and finally caught up by the army is repeated in this film also. Before she dies the words she used to denote her love towards the county show another extreme overdramatic side of patriotism. The dialogues were extremely mismatching to set the scenes, the cliche dialogues and overdramatic words were annoying to hear. Also, the placement of dialogue was not perfect, to boost the stardom of the main actor's unnecessary dialogues were added. I am sure that the writers haven't done proper research on the real incident because realism was missing all over. The incidents of the India-Pakistan war of 1971 is having the occurrence of many events and it contains man interesting twist and turns is something that can excite anyone but here due to the lack of research the makers with the less knowledge have dumped every intriguing side of the real incident.
• TECHNICAL SIDE:
The cinematography by Aseem Bajaj was great but most of the frames and shots were spoiled by the horrifying visual effects. The lengthy single-shot showcasing the battlefield and war was shown adequately but again the work of VFX made it look dull. The lighting techniques were something need to be mention, the arrangements were impressive. The editing of Dharmendra Sharma was pretty good without mismatches and the grading and coloring he used to set the night shots were brilliant. The action sequences and the choreographed style don't impress much but ok. The background score was totally disappointing without giving any right sort of impact. For the war scenes, the final result of building a moment was not setback by the unstable background score. For also the heroic scene the lack of punch was felt due to the lack of a good background score. The song ‘Hunjugam’ sung by Jubin Nautiyal and composed by Gourov Dasgupta was normal with the familiar tune. In between some songs were added which I felt unwanted because the scenarios were not right for adding the song.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall to conclude Bhuj: The Pride Of India had given me a disappointing experience in all manner. The story of the film was having every potential component for a periodical war drama but everything was aggressively destroyed by the worst direction and poor writing. The blame lies on the court of the director and writers also the unsatisfying VFX had killed the viewing experience. Therefore to conclude, I won't recommend this horrible film to anyone, just for a time pass or to know about the 1971 Indo- Pakistan War you can watch this but still approach with fewer expectations.
Srinagar: Four men who planned for the terrorist attack on Independence Day were arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police. Terrorist is associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit. The police say they planned to collect weapons from drones.
Before the arrival of August 15, they aimed to attack with the bombs in Jammu. They also planned to attack in other places in the country. They also added that they planned to hold an attack by a bomb built in a motorcycle.
Security agencies tightened the vigilance associated with Independence day. Intelligence warned that there was a possibility of an attack on military posts.
Toronto (Canada): The direct flight services from Canada to India were banned up to September 21, Canadian Transport Authority said. The new order was released in the wake of the covid pandemic widening in the country. The new order is also applicable to Commercial and private flights.
The Public Health Agency of Canada decided to ban flight services. The flight services were banned in April and extended many times due to covid. The ban has to be lifted on August 21, the new order released by the authorities.
Meanwhile, Canada began the process of creating digital vaccination passports for their passengers. Government officials said Canada will provide vaccine passports to those who travel abroad next month.
In the vaccination, Canada is ahead of any country in the world. According to July 31, 81 percent of the age of 12 in Canada have been given the vaccine. Of these, 68 percent of people have taken two doses of the vaccine.
Federal officials have adopted all the precautions to prevent the second wave of covid in Canada.
Thiruvananthpuram: There will be no liquor selling in the state tomorrow. Bevco said Independence Day will be a holiday for all liquor outlets. All outlets and warehouses were instructed regarding this, the authorities added.
Shimla: Two bodies were recovered by the heavy landslide on the highway in Himachal Pradesh. With this, the death toll in the landslide increased to 19. The Army and Disaster environment for rescue are also in the field. The rescue operation continues on the fourth day.
In the area, there was landfall again. Two of the two people and a dog were injured amid searching.
New Delhi: Domestic travel rates rose. The minimum capacity of 40 minutes was up 11.53 percent to 12.82 percent. The low cost of travel from up to 40 minutes was up 2,900 from Rs 2,600. The huge rates in the same category increased to Rs 8,800.
The minimum rate of travel from 40 to 60 minutes increased from 3300 to Rs 3700. The maximum rate was up 12.24 percent to Rs 11,000. The Ministry released an order on this on Thursday.
New Delhi: The first phase trial of the nasal decongestant covid vaccine is successful. Following this, the authorities approved the next trial of the vaccine in India. India’s first nasal vaccine is developed by Bharat Biotech. The experiment took place in people between the ages of 18 and 60 years old.
•ONE WORD: A watchable thriller with the shining performance of Nayanthara.
•STORY IDEA:
Netrikann begins with Durga (Nayanthara) who works as a CB-CID officer who loses her brother due to a sudden accident which leads her to be visionless. She struggles due to her blind eyes but strongly believes in her willpower and manages to survive her disability. One day on a misunderstanding she gets into a car that is driven by a psychopath (Ajmal Ameer) who use to kidnap and torture girls, things get upside from that moment because the psychopath starts to hunt for Durga. Can Durga escape from him and will she be able to survive without her eye and vision is the rest of the story.
• DETAIL REVIEW:
Netrikann is directed by the newcomer Milind Rau who also writes the screenplay. The story is by Choi Min-seok, adapted from the 2011 Korean movie The Blind also Netrikann is done as a frame-to-frame remake. The dialogues for the film are written by Navin Sundaramurthy and Senthilkumar Kesavan. The movie is produced by Vignesh Shivan and Hyunwoo Thomas Kim under the banner of Rowdy Pictures and Kross Pictures. The cinematography is handled by R. D. Rajasekhar, the music is composed by Girishh Gopalakrishnan and the editing is by Lawrence Kishore. The movie opts for the OTT release and is now streaming through Hotstar+Disney.
First of all, I had watched the 2011 Korean film The Blind, so not comparing but the remake Netrikann had almost done justice to the original version, not fully but to an extent. The Korean adaptation to the Indian culture was brought out decently but the impact which the Korean version had created was missing in this remake. The attempt of remaking was honest, it’s a complete frame-to-frame work so those who had watched the original will feel disappointed but for those who haven’t this remake will be a perfect choice. It’s a complete cat and mouse game of heroine and villain so the movie is a thriller that is filled with many moments to get excited. The story is the prior factor here because one blind woman chasing after a psychopath offers the viewers an engaging package of a thriller. The story adapted from the original version is the first primary plus factor of this film because it has the potential content to cherish the viewers and also offers many nail-biting and exhilarating moments.
The direction held by Milind Rau was good but as a screenplay writer he was not up to the real level, for a crime thriller he was having many ideal thoughts in his direction but the screenplay doesn’t get raised to the accurate phase. The screenplay was suffering from many drawbacks, the first is the lack of logic. There are many loopholes in the script, for example, the police authorities failing to get the CCTV visuals of the villain who used to chase the important characters in public places. The next drawback is the subplot which tells the flashback of a villain on how and why did he become a psychopath was not convincing. His past life and the villain who is a doctor further becoming a psychopath was lacking with a good satisfying explanation, the reason was awful. Also, the subplot was having an important character, the villain’s wife which comes as a twist that was not handled correctly and hasn’t been explained properly, leading to losses end. Another is the absence of media, the city was filling with many missing girls and none of the media was not showing interest to cover up, therefore I guess the writer had forgotten it. Next is the mode of operation from the villain, how did he use to pick the girls, or is he picking through by dealing with his profession doesn’t give a clear idea. The most terrible thing in the film is happening towards the end, the villain, again and again, was easily rising back from death. Towards the end villain hitting several times himself on an iron rode and also in a concrete wall to provoke police officers and easily killing all of them and finally escaping from the police station was overdramatic. Then he suddenly gets back to kill where the heroine belongs, the funniest thing is still through the crowds of Chennai city the escaped killer gets easily traveled, no one is noticing and no action from police authorities, he is absolutely free to travel anywhere he likes. Another cliche is villain’s body catching fire and suddenly coming back again to kill the central character was overdramatic. So after all these incidents, the psychopath villain looks fine and healthy to do what he likes. The next drawback is everything is predictable, one can clearly have the idea how the movie is going to end, surprising elements were not seen in the second half.
Nayanthara is one of the biggest female stars in the South Indian film industry so the film offers many interesting scenes for her and for her to admire. The director had amazingly used the talents of Nayanthara and it was seen in the whole film. She carries the movie through her shoulder and her unique screen presence makes the movie not boring or tending to skip. The dialogues are written by Navin Sundaramurthy and Senthilkumar Kesavan give Nayanthara many favorable dialogues which eventually lead to whistle-worthy moments. There are many powerful dialogues in the film, Nayanthara questioning the culprit by asking ‘who are you to decide a woman good or bad and the dialogues of Nayanthara challenging the villain was having the potential scopes for huge applause. Still, the loopholed screenplay was having some interesting scenes especially the Metro station scene of the villain and Nayanthara, at a time it was nail-biting and exciting to know what is next. So the director had amazingly used the talents of Nayanthara and also the emotions he blended in the screenplay were also good especially the love between a dog and the master. Those scenes of Nayanthara with her pet dog was beautiful and emotional. The other emotions such as brotherhood, betrayal, lust, and vengeance were also added to portray different emotions and most of them were sinking in the screenplay. So all together as an adaptation the duty of the director to make the movie was quite easy and it worked decently but as a screenplay writer, he failed to give a big smash.
•PERFORMANCE OF ACTORS:
It’s all about Nayanthara’s sterling performance and she once again proved why she is called as Lady Super Star. Her characterization of a blind lady was brilliant in all terms, she was just living into it. The mannerism she had was flawless, how a blind lady lives, how they sense, and how they feel was acted out authentically without any errors. Her screen presences were all over with the film and the way she undertook it was amazing. All her dialogues were extraordinary especially when it comes to the anger scenes and action sequences, the real face of anger was prominently seen. The astonishing dialogue delivery and the accurate timing were exceptional. The emotional scenes were superior like always, the scenes in which she came to know her pet dog is no more was sentimental which gives me tears. So like I said, it was a complete energetic show of Nayanthara. Ajmal Ameer as the villain was an awesome job. The personalities of a psychopath were acted out genuinely, his style and attitude were matching for a psychopath killer. The action sequences were handled certainly in the right manner and the dialogue delivery was also impressive. Saran Shakthi comes with an important role throughout and he had given his best to make it noteworthy. The combination scenes he had with Nayanthara were nice which also had the angle of the brother-sister relationship. K. Manikandan as the Sub Inspector of Police also did a notable performance. Some of his situational comedies were fun and the combination scenes he had with Nayanthara were thrilling.
•TECHNCIAL SIDE:
The technical side of the film was remarkable especially the cinematography, editing, and background score. The cinematography by R. D. Rajasekhar was glorious, his frames and shots were excellent to set the mood of the film. There are many shots to be mention, what I liked the most is the climax visuals and the action sequences because the camera movements he had given to capture it was striking to the best extent. The shots of action sequences had given a great impact and the visuals of the chasing scenes were also steady. The close-up frames to apprehend the emotions of Nayanthara were flawless, the frames took the right mannerism of Nayanthara who act as the blind person. The lighting techniques used in indoor scenes were also harmonizing to set the premise, especially the scenes of villains secret place holding the girls. The editing by Lawrence Kishore was crisp and clear with the right time of cuts. His coloring and grading for the night scenes look original and the mismatches were not felt in the viewing experience. The person who choreographed the action sequences did a great job, how a blind can fight and what all she can do to survive was brought out authentically by the choreographer. The background score tuned by Girishh Gopalakrishnan was highlighted with the right mood and feel for a crime thriller. The background tunes were helping to set the thriller tune and the scenes having nail-biting moments were synced with the perfect background tunes. The song ‘Ithuvum Kadanthu Pogum’ sung by Sid Sriram was melodious and pleasant to hear with appealing visuals.
•CONCLUSION:
So overall Netrikann is all about the sensational performance from Nayanthara, she makes the movie watchable and her unbelievable screen space makes the time worth. There are some important drawbacks of loopholes bit still the movie has its moments to pass the thrill and excitement, won’t be disappointed and can consider for an engaging one-time watch. Therefore to conclude, I liked the film but as a person who had seen the original Korean version ‘The Blind’ this remake was slightly dissatisfying, but those who haven’t watched the original version can choose and go with Netrikaan to get thrilled.
Kochi: The government has revised the triple lockdown norms. If five Covid cases are reported a day in an area of 100 meters, it will be a micro-containment zone. The Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Disaster Management said in an order that the house would be micro-cantonment zoned if covid spreads in a joint family of more than 10 members.
Until now, the micro-cantonment zone was defined on a ward basis and restrictions were enforced. But restrictions are being imposed on only a small area as the spread of Covid continues unabated. Under the new standards, streets, markets, densely populated areas, factories, offices, IT companies, warehouses, auction houses, housing colonies, shopping malls, industrial establishments, flats, harbors, and fish markets will also be covered.
According to the latest Population Weekly Disease Rate (IPR), triple lockdowns have been imposed in 634 wards in 87 local bodies. The IPR is restricted to areas above eight, and last week it was lockdown in 266 wards. Malappuram has the highest number of triple lockdown wards. 171. Palakkad 102 and Kozhikode 89 are the triple lockdown wards. There is not even a single ward in Idukki.
