Ray review: Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Chandan Roy Sanyal shine in Netflix anthology

The brand new four-part Netflix anthology, primarily based on brief tales by Satyajit Ray, is a combined bag. One phase stands out, one other has promise and the opposite two don’t elevate off the display screen.

No prizes for guessing which one tops the checklist. ‘Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa’, directed by Abhishek Chaubey, has a bunch of the very best actors working in Hindi cinema. Manoj Bajpayee performs Musafar Ali, a dapper ‘dil-phenk’ ghazal singer, oozing with old-style ‘shayarana andaaz’. Gajraj Rao is Aslam Baig, a former wrestler whose ‘dhobhi pacchhaad’, a sophisticated ‘kushti’ transfer, is legendary from ‘Dilli to Agrey’ (solely familiars will smile at the usage of ‘Agrey’ for ‘Agra’).

Sharing a fateful practice journey, in a kind of near-forgotten cosy coupes, Ali and Baig joust with one another, and previous secrets and techniques, involving kleptomania and a fateful twist in fortunes, come tumbling out.

The clattering of the rails, the swaying of the compartment, the stillness of these watching, all come collectively on this phase, during which Bajpayee twinkles from behind his shiny spectacles, Rao is on the highest of his sport, and also you pay attention with pleasure to the type of flowery language that’s gone lacking from the flicks because the ‘Muslim social’ was deep-sixed.

Raghubir Yadav and Manoj Pahwa have walk-on components, and that’s all they want. My solely niggle with this solidly-produced, well-designed phase is that this journey stays determinedly nice and placid. I stored ready for the customary sharp edge, a lot part of Abhishek Chaubey’s arsenal.

What occurs when an actor (Harshvardhan Kapoor) who has coasted on simply ‘one look’ will get caught in a bind, not solely of his personal making? ‘Highlight’ presents up an insider view of showbiz and the attendant shallowness that’s such an intrinsic a part of it. The trustworthy secretary (Chandan Roy Sanyal) who is aware of precisely which buttons to push to maintain his shopper on monitor, the sonny boy’s mummy who has full religion in him, and the younger man of restricted expertise himself, stuffed with insecurities and doubt and bluster.

The comic-book bits on this one reminds you of Bala’s ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota’, however ‘Highlight’ isn’t kooky sufficient. Radhika Madan, who was such a delight within the earlier movie, doesn’t fairly fill out her a part of the madly common Didi, whose toes are worshipped by her ‘bhakts’. There’s one thing right here, a sending up of blind fandom in each hokey faith and present enterprise. Bala who provides himself the function of a director in a blinding Hawaiian shirt is gorgeous. And why don’t we see extra of Roy Sanyal, who completely aces his half?

The opposite two, ‘Bahurupi’ and ‘Neglect Me Not’, each directed by Srijit Mukherji, are disappointing. Not as a result of the actors aren’t making an attempt. Kay Kay Menon, as an professional make-up artist who will get caught between a rock and a really exhausting place, will get a task that’s worthy of him. While you put a masks on, what occurs to the important you? Are you able to disguise your self so efficiently that you just disappear? Intriguing questions, and also you await the solutions. They arrive, a lot too underlined, too overstated, no nuance. And that’s additionally the issue with ‘Neglect Me Not’ too, which is a few extremely profitable, extraordinarily egotistic man who prides himself on his reminiscence (Ali Afzal) being despatched on a surprising mind-bender. There’s a lesson in right here: delight does come earlier than a mighty fall, and nothing lasts for ever.

Every phase is almost an hour lengthy. Select properly.