'Gunjan Saxena' full movie hd download in hindi

Wait, is this the first desi film (ever) centered on the female lead, while there is no allusion, let the alone presence of a male love-interest (or 'significant other', as they call it) — all through? Statisticians, who keep score — and there should be such folk for cinema as there are in sport — should know better.

I mean, there is a moment where the young heroine, as it were, mentions something to the effect of wanting to get married. But that's just a stray remark, coming off her volition, and something her dad vehemently opposes.

Pankaj Tripathi plays the father's role. In ways that only he can. When he simply walks in with that beatific smile to the screen, within the film's first minute, he radiates enough warmth for you to root for his little one already. Because she's the daughter of such a lovely man! This sort of presence is such a unique quality to have. Makes the job of empathy so easy for an audience.

Also quite often, the father as the persistent ally explains a lot about how patriarchy gets challenged in society (among desis anyway). Take the phenomenal story of Malala, for instance (Davis Guggenheim's He Named Me Malala; 2015).

Gunjan Saxena's of course a very different tale. She's a fighter pilot — from the first batch of female recruits in the history of Indian Air Force (IAF). An officer, and a lady — she fought the Kargil War in 1999.

Oh, another thing. Is this the first Indian war-movie that at no scene, dialogue, casual or otherwise, ever descends into blood-lust/thirst, to a point that I don't think Pakistan, the enemy across the border, is even mentioned once? And it's an Indo-Pak war film?

That is commendable alright. For multiple reasons. But more so, because the jingoism bit on the battlefield has been done and dusted to death. To the soldier in the actual frontline, I'm presuming, what matters is the tactics/mechanics of war, rather than emotions behind it — think 1917 (2019).

No, I'm not comparing this to the Sam Mendes masterpiece. The scale and conflict there was way too wide/expansive. No knock on this film's technical competence either. It sits comfortably among the better ones of the lot — with a first-time filmmaker (Sharan Sharma) at the helm, which is a feat on its own.

The issue perhaps is that for a good portion, there isn't quite a real conflict in the picture at all — introduced nonetheless; for how else do you carry along a plot, without an obstacle course to engage audiences with?

The girl has a dream (to fly). The dad is there to see it fulfilled. It's only when she's in the Air Force, flying high, having broken a real ceiling that she's up against an impenetrable wall. These are men (led confidently by actor Vineet Kumar Singh), who cannot deal with a woman in their base.

There is also a bro-code that the girl must honour. Which anybody who's been to an all-boys' boarding school will recognise right away. And I'm guessing the armed forces work no differently. She never rats on her seniors. She's hazed to the point of serious public humiliation.

To what extent is this true? Real life Gunjan Saxena, on whom this script is based, has evidently participated in its telling/writing. Either way, the last thing I'd want to know is the defense establishment's reaction to this film. This doesn't claim to be a piece of documentary or journalism either.

The armed forces have recently asked for powers to pre-censor films set around their workings/profession. Which is a privilege that must then also be extended to the police, judiciary, bureaucrats, politicians…. Where does this end? But that's a separate matter.

What's undeniable about Gunjan Saxena, only partly about the Kargil War, is that it is the ultimate insider-outsider story. About a phenomenon so universal — across all fields and spheres of life — that you can practically dub every film as being about the outsider, becoming the insider (or not). Or as Tolstoy famously said, "All great literature is one of two stories: A man goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town."

This is a woman. Jahnvi Kapoor, 23, plays or rather wholly embodies Gunjan Saxena — through the '80s to the end of '90s. She wears that perennial look on her face of someone to whom life simply happens, while she casually passes the world by. There is something so non-actor type about her presence. Maybe the word I'm looking for is instinct. You stay with her throughout. Is this film for young girls what Govind Nihalani's IAF film Vijeta (1982) was for kids that generation?

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bandish bandits full webseries download

We have heard many stories of artists being tormented by their quest to perfect a song, a painting, a novel, or a dance form. But Bandish Bandits, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video says art should not be a burden but a joy that sets you free and helps you brings people together. The show is created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, with Anand also serving as director of the entire series.

Quite like the film Morning Raga, Bandish Bandits tells the story of two individuals and two musical styles meeting. Radhe (Ritwik Bhowmik), a classically trained singer, meets pop star and social media music sensation Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary) at her concert in Jodhpur. This chance encounter ends up becoming a life changing event for the two.

Radhe lives with his parents, uncle, and grandfather Pandit Radhemohan Rathod (Naseeruddin Shah), a classical music singer who is held in high regard even by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Sadly, their respectable public image is in stark contrast to their grim and unhappy home where the air reeks of stifled ambitions and repressed desires. Panditji’s sons Rajendra (Rajesh Tailang) and Devendra (Amit Mistry) nurse grudges against their father for holding them to impossibly high standards, while Radhe’s mother Mohini (Sheeba Chaddha) has a tragic story worthy of a spin off show.

Tamanna comes a breath of fresh air into Radhe’s drab life. Inspired by the purity and sincerity in his voice, Tamanna asks him to collaborate with her on a song. Radhe however is determined to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and refuses to sing in any other style till his family’s dwindling fortunes force him to change his mind. Singing with Tamanna offers Radhe a completely different musical experience that he finds enjoyable and liberating. The two also indulge in a rather unnecessary role-playing sidetrack where they decide to fake a love story (we know how that will end) to get the right emotional vibe for the song they are creating. It is unabashedly frivolous and corny, but I realised it has been created to specifically appeal to a younger audience.

Tamanna and Radhe’s song is a success and the two come together to form the ‘Bandish Bandits’ and create more music together. Just when we think Radhe can have his Riyaaz and his fusion too, enters Digvijay (Atul Kulkarni), Panditji’s son from his first wife whom he has abandoned years ago. Digvijay wants his father to name him successor to his musical legacy instead of Radhe. Unfortunately, after this point, what begins as the story of two youngsters trying to navigate careers in music and finding their own voice, literally and otherwise, suddenly shifts focus to Panditji, Radhe and Digvijay and a male dominated war of succession that is unforgivably clichéd. It also dilutes the core promise of the show - youngsters creating a bridge between classical purity and commercial viability in an art form.

Bandish Bandits has been made with sincerity, but the pace and quality of writing is inconsistent. The story gets unnecessarily stretched over 10 episodes and could have easily been at least two hours shorter. But what it lacks in a taut screenplay and sharp editing, it makes up for in its performances. Ritwik and Shreya aren’t strong performers, but their lack of experience works well here. As young artists in real life as well, they strike a nice balance of naturally exuding more confidence around people their own age and looking suitably overwhelmed around veteran actors in the cast.

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Ritwik especially has a tough task on hand having to work opposite far more experienced actors who effortlessly steal scenes. Rajesh and Amit bring adequate pathos and resentment to their roles but scenes of them playing musical instruments have been clumsily filmed and edited. Naseeruddin Shah is excellent as the impractical and unlikeable patriarch, but the actor manages to bring just the right amount of vulnerability to his role to ensure that you don’t hate him. Sheeba is in brilliant form yet again, and her performance in the scene where her backstory is finally revealed is perhaps the best by an actor in the entire series. Atul Kulkarni, another fine actor, is excellent as Digvijay. Kunal Roy Kapur as Tamanna’s agent Arghya brings the laughs, but even his role like most of the cast’s lacks dimensions and finer details.

The real star of the show though is the music. As someone who trained for several years in Hindustani classical music, and enjoys music in general, this show was a treat. Music directors Shankar Ehsaan Loy create a great album, but it’s wonderful to see and hear characters talk about and sing a khayal, thumri, and bandish, all styles that are slowly getting lost today.

The relevance of these traditional compositions and classical training in a world where music is increasingly expected to provide instant gratification is another theme the makers attempt to discuss throughout the series. It’s strange then that the names of the singers don’t appear earlier in the end credits. I actually sat through waiting for the names of the singers to appear, especially the ones who have lent their voices to the main characters and saw that a casting intern received his or her credit before the actual singers without whom this show would not be possible. I realised later that the show’s soundtrack has been released separately with detailed credits, but honestly that’s not good enough.

It’s no masterpiece but watch Bandish Bandits for the lovely music that I am pretty certain we will not get to hear on any other show, and for some its fabulous actors who quite like the music only get seen on web series like these.

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the webseries.

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AVRODH THE SIEGE WEBSERIES FULL HD DOWNLOAD AND REVIEW

"Let's tell them that we aren't just the land of Mahatma Gandhi, we are also the nation of Subhash Chandra Bose," National Security Advisor (Neeraj Kabi) tells Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Vikram Gokhale) in a wilful, frustrated tone.

After eight months of the Pathankot attack, which killed 7 Indian security personnel, the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists infiltrated the Indian Army headquarters in Uri and killed 19 soldiers of the Indian Army, making it the deadliest attack on the Indian security forces in a decade - till then. This was September 18, 2016. The 2019 attack on the CRPF jawans in Pulwama was still a few years away.

Since the Partition in 1947, India has faced many terrorist attacks, retaliation of which would majorly be limited to political dialogues. But the assault on Indian soldiers on our own soil in Uri did the job of awakening the beast from its eternal slumber. It's payback time, and India's Special Forces (SF) will leave no stone unturned to execute the cleanest operation of crossing the Line Of Control (LoC) and killing over 38 terrorists, residing in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. All of this, without any casualties.

We all have read about the way Indian soldiers undertook the heroic 2016 Uri Surgical Strike. Most of us have seen the entire operation in Vicky Kaushal-starrer Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019). But how many of us know the back story? What led to the surgical strike?

How the Army and India's ruling party joined hands to execute the daredevil plan deftly and swiftly is what forms the crux of Sony Liv's new show, Avrodh: The Siege Within. The series turns these pages of history for us. Avrodh is based on the first chapter ('We Don't Really Know Fear') of the book India's Most Fearless 1, by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, which lists first-hand accounts of military heroes who braved the most dangerous circumstances. The makers have, however, taken ample creative liberties.

From the uproar in the Valley after the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani to Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camps and their suicide bombers, Avrodh lists all the incidents that lead to the Uri Surgical Strike. In fact, we get to see the soldiers execute the strike in only the last two episodes. The first 7 episodes of this 9-episode series shows us how the whole operation was built and the planning that went in.

Amit Sadh is seen playing the role of Major Videep Singh, who has spent a decade of his 13 service years in Jammu and Kashmir and has been part of 20 successful anti-terror operations. He knows the topography of the region well, and thus is put in charge to chalk out the plan for the surgical strike and choose his men for the task ahead.

Amit beefed up for his role of Major Videep Singh. We see he has prepared well for his character. But that's where the problem lies: he tries a little too hard and it is starkly visible on the camera. Darshan Kumar as Major Gautam is promising. Neeraj Kabi, however, is the star of the show. He remains effortless and is the most watchable actor in the whole series.

Performances aren't the problem in Avrodh; its uneven narrative is. The segment introducing the character of journalist Namrata Joshi (Madhurima Tuli) is jarring. Media plays an important role in delicate circumstances like these, but the subject needed some more depth.

The truly daunting task for the Indian soldiers was the return from behind the enemy lines after the successful execution of the strike. They had to tread an uphill track with their backs facing fire from the Pakistani forces. In the book, the Major Mike Tango mentioned, "... the one thing bothering me was the de-induction - the return. That's where I knew I could lose guys." This part is also handled loosely in the series. Right after crossing LoC, Amit stands in front of the National Flag for a good minute. In real life, the soldiers were facing heavy barrage from our angry neighbour and trying to make it back safe.

Apart from these few glitches, Avrodh emerges as a well-rounded series. It delves deep into the functioning of terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, how they employ terrorists and the backing they get from Pakistan Intelligence agency ISI. It also takes into account the international pressure from the US and United Nations that the ruling parties had to go through while delivering such fearless operations.

The guns and the glory, it's all there in Avrodh, and director Raj Acharya presents it as mere facts, without the series coming off as hyper-nationalistic.

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YAARA FULL HD MOVIE DOWNLOAD

Yaara movie cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Amit Sadh, Vijay Varma, Shruti Haasan, Ankur Vakil, Kenny Basumatary, Mohammed Ali Shah, Sanjay Mishra
Yaara movie director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Yaara movie rating: Two stars

Friendship and betrayal is a long-running thread in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s films. Yaara, based on the 2011 French crime drama A Gang Story, gives us the story of four childhood pals and their journey through the murky world of gun-running, country liquor, and the shenanigans involved in buying and selling large tracts of land for profit. Given the director’s skills in this kind of set-up, Yaara, set in the 70s, should have been a uniformly fast-paced ride, studded with interesting performances, but it works only sporadically.

Part of the fun of watching Dhulia’s better movies is the way they put together a bunch of quirky characters, craggy locations and eye-popping intrigue. We see the foursome comprising the ‘chaukadi gang’, Phagun, Mitwa, Rizwan, Bahadur (Jammwal, Sadh, Varma, Basumatary respectively) hanging out, shooting the breeze when they are not shooting their way out of trouble, often dispensing with their shirts, so that their bare chests do the talking, and till they are in that initial stages of cementing their yaari-dosti, it’s all good.

Subsequently, the plot starts to meander, into dangerous Naxal territory, in which we see socially-conscious students of redbrick Delhi University colleges working off their privilege. This part of the film reminds you of that infinitely superior trek into the same terrain by Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. That’s the cue for Sukanya (Haasan) to show up, as a sympathiser-cum-activist, the weakest link in the film. It leads to a bulbous middle, and a twist which leads the way to a muddled third act, where the friends, now middle-aged, beards-flecked-with-grey, meet up again, and the body count piles up.

The only way to work a testosterone-laden, bullet-riddled sprawling desi Western-cum-crime saga, is to keep it believable. I’m quite happy to watch young men, drunk on the power of can-do-anything youth, swagger about, especially if they aren’t the overused, jaded stars Bollywood works with. But there needs to be more that they, and us, are given to work with. Yaara needed both more clarity and heft, to deliver on the promise it set out with.

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