GA425242 Reviews

Bulbbul (2020)

AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE

[10/10 · 27 April 2022]

I've seen this movie thrice. Skip the English-dubbed version and watch it in Hindi.

Its a MAGICAL infusion of melancholy and forlorn. There is no way the movie won't shake you. When I watched it for the first time, it stayed with me for many days and weeks. You wont be able to get it out of your head. The ambiance it creates, the world its set in, the performances, the placing of bgm, the plot - everything ties in brilliantly.

And oh my, the climax when its revealed who Bulbbul is, is nothing short of heartbreaking - the feet aspect is painful and gut-wrenching. The two flashback scenes which led to Bulbbul's transformation are brutal, graphic, and will absolutely shake you.

Its not every year that you get a movie like this. Highly highly recommended.

Girls Hostel (2018– )

On-Point Performances. Contemporary. Self-Aware. And Very Funny.

[10/10 · 11 April 2021]

This is my first IMDb rating/review and doing it only because of how good I found Girls Hostel to be. I first discovered this show a week ago and despite it having been a week, I've re-watched it some 3-4 times now.

What works for the show is that the universe it creates is contemporary, relatable, and has smart comic references. Every character perfectly adds value to the narrative - be it the warden who is a laugh riot every single time (such an on-point performance by Trupti Khamkar), or Palak, or Twitter. Goes without saying that the girls are just incredible - Srishti, Parul, Ahsaas, Simran, thank you for such well-placed performances. May you guys flourish as actors and find projects which only grow your career trajectory more.

The show is self-aware, does not shy from taking strong and necessary sociopolitical stands, and explores each character arc beautifully. Two favorite bits:

• When Zahira goes Live and makes her impactful speech about Mili while Jo is taking it all out on the View Point......and the scene closes with The Darker Side playing. This scene packs such a punch. Brilliant overall editing and execution.

• The last scene of S2 (this is the scene Srishti and Parul have mentioned in their promotional interviews about how they found prepping and doing this scene particularly profound). Damn. It leaves things on such a melancholic cliffhanger, especially how Jo exits the screen and then towards the absolute last few seconds, Zahira abruptly ceases to smile and looks in Jo's direction (quite subtle but its there).

The background music and tracks by Vaibhav Bundhoo are an underlying treat.

TVF and all the writers/makers of the show: Lets not make S3 come after 2 years this time. As many reviews here and on YouTube reflect, the audiences are eager for Jo-Zahira-Gurpreet's arc and for this show to keep going on. Also, more power for continuing to ace the Bechdel Test.