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Prayaag Akbar’s debut novel ‘Leila’ was adapted into a Netflix series by Deepa Mehta. Starring Huma Qureshi, Rahul Khanna, and Sanjay Suri, among others, the series has six episodes and ends on a cliffhanger. I believe you should always read the book first and then watch its film or TV adaptation but, invariably, there are times I do the opposite. And I always regret it. Leila, the book is better than Leila, the series. The series is a little dramatized while the story in the book feels raw and real. Akbar writes well. It’s easy to conjure up scenes in your head. 

Essentially a story about a mother looking for her missing daughter, Leila is set in a dystopian world—a world that seems likely in the near future. It’s unsettling because of its plausibility. The world is divided into ‘sectors’, according to religion in order to maintain ‘purity’. Protected by walls and guarded by Repeaters (young men given the authority to enforce random rules to keep separate people according to race, class, and religion), people need permission to enter these sectors. Anyone who doesn’t follow strict rules is harshly punished. 

At the start of the novel, we see Shalini, the novel’s narrator, and her husband Rizwan, gearing up to celebrate their daughter’s birthday. Next thing we know, Shalini is in a ‘purity camp’—a place meant for women who don’t follow the rules. She’s lost her husband (he’s beaten brutally and probably killed) and her daughter (she vanishes along with her nanny, Sapna). From the camp, she’s sent to live in the Towers outside the city. As broken as her spirit might be, she’s determined to search for her daughter and 16 years on, she’s relentless in her pursuit. 

Leila is a great commentary on how class and religion divide us. It’s a reminder of our  bleak future if we continue to let traditional social constructs determine our actions. The book is also a heartfelt portrayal of maternal love, of the lengths a mother will go to care for and protect her child. Shalini, Akbar’s heroine, could be anyone of us. She’s not courageous or noble. She’s as good or bad as her circumstances. One minute you find yourself hating her for being so stubborn and then loving her the next as you see she’s trying and failing and yet not giving up. 

Those who read and love dystopian stories will perhaps get a sense of déjà vu. It’s oddly reminiscent of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. But Leila is dark and disturbing (and thus you are hooked) because it’s easy to imagine a future where things are happening exactly as described in the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34932175-leila 

Three stars

Fiction

Leila

Prayaag Akbar

Published: 2017

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Pages: 263, Paperback 

In his latest movie “Jayeshbhai Jordaar,” actor Ranveer Singh plays the titular Jayesh Patel—a happy-go-lucky man who lives in a village called Pravingadh, Gujarat, with his pregnant wife Mudra (Shalini Pandey) and daughter Siddhi (Jia Vaidhya). His family has been in power in the village for generations. 

When his father Prutvish (Boman Irani) faces a tough competition in the village sarpanch election, he puts Mudra as a front—and she wins. But she neither gets to exercise her power nor to attend any of the public hearings. For all intents and purposes, her father-in-law is still the village head. 

This is just the beginning of the film, giving you a glimpse of what is to come. Pravingadh is a village riddled with superstition and patriarchy. Jayesh’s family is no exception. In fact, his father is a strong proponent of patriarchy; he forbids women from using bathing soaps as, apparently, their fragrance draws unwanted male attention. Jayesh and his mother Jasodha (Ratna Shah Pathak) are bystanders and sometimes unwillingly complicit in Prutvish’s atrocities. Mudra has no say in the house. 

Jayesh’s parents are unhappy with their daughter-in-law as she has not been able to give him a son—an heir to continue the Patel family lineage. His eldest daughter is nine, and since his wife Mudra has had six abortions as all those fetuses tuned out to be female. 

This time, Jayesh’s parents are confident it is a male. But as Mudra gets into the last stage of pregnancy, Jayesh finds out that she has a daughter. Fearing for the life of both mother and the unborn daughter, Jayesh devises an escape from the village. His ordeal while running away with the pregnant Mudra and Siddhi, while his powerful father and his clan are in hot pursuit, makes up for the story of Jayeshbhai Jordaar.

But this is still a side story. Directed by Divyang Thakkar, Jayeshbhai Jordaar is an Indian comedy-drama film that has so many incidents that deserve to become stand-alone stories of their own. The film exposes a part of India (and South Asia by extension) that is still reeling under ancient cultures and malpractices. 

In their patriarchal world, Suyesh is a misfit: a feminist who believes in equal rights. He cannot straight up rebel against his father but he makes every attempt to protect his wife and daughter in secret. He locks his bedroom door and pretends to hit Mudra because his parents want him to but he does not actually lay a finger on her. He steals bathing soap from his mother’s safe because Mudra loves the smell. 

Actor Ranveer Singh, known for his trailblazing fashion and style, shuns all his ornamentation to play an ordinary Gujarati villager in the film. Jayeshbhai is Bollywood’s take on Indian social issues and Singh shows a commitment to the cause through his performance. This is something Akshay Kumar did in the past before he lost his mojo. I just think Ranveer Singh does it better and with more conviction. 

Actors Boman Irani and Ratna Pathak Shah naturally assume their positions like the class act they are. As the villain, Irani gets a stronger role and performs it with natural ease. A new but popular name in South Indian cinema, Shalini Pandey playing Mudra, a daughter-in-law in a strict Gujrati household, does not get many opportunities to shine but this does not stop her from showcasing her skills whenever she is on screen. 

The young Jia Vaidya as Jayesh’s daughter Siddhi is the show-stealer, though. Despite living in a world of voiceless women, Siddhi is smart, sassy and vocal. She is one who gives her father the name of ‘Jayeshbhai Jordaaar’. Vaidya’s portrayal of Siddhi is a treat to watch.  

Who should watch it?

Jayeshbhai Jordaar is a PG drama that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It is not only entertaining but also educational. Still, it is a Bollywood adaptation, so you can expect some over-the-top sequences and improbable situations. There are moments when you feel the filmmakers could have done better. But those are few and far between and definitely not a deal-breaker. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fppJtxJ7RWY 

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: Comedy, drama

Actors: Ranveer Singh, Shailini Pandey, Boman Irani

Director: Divyang Thakkar

Run time: 2hrs 1min

If I could only read one book for the rest of my life, it would have, until recently, been ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman. Now I will replace that with Backman’s latest book ‘Anxious People’. It’s that good. Backman is a fantastic writer who understands human complexities and insecurities like no other author I’ve read. Anxious People made me happy. It made me sad. I laughed. I cried. It was such an immersive read. There are many characters but I can’t pick a favorite. They all have little pieces of my heart. 

A hilarious, outrageous novel about a robber who fails to rob a bank but sparks a hostage drama, the book touches issues of love, marriage and parenthood among many others. It’s very thought-provoking and uplifting. The story begins with a hostage drama. The hostage-taker has many problems in life—he is short on rent, and without a permanent place to stay he risks losing the custody of his daughter. But then he ends up trying to rob a cashless bank. When the cashier calls the police, he runs into a nearby apartment and takes hostage those who have come for the viewing. 

Among the hostages are a lesbian couple, Julia and Ro, who is expecting a baby, an 87-year-old woman Estelle, Zara, a uber-rich bank manager who is in therapy for depression, Anna-Lena and Roger, a long-married couple who buy and renovate properties and sell them for a profit, Lennart, a rabbit (won’t say more because spoiler alert!) and a real estate agent. Then there are the cops: Jim and Jack. They are also father and son. The hostage situation is their first ever ‘big’ case and they have to google to find out how to deal with it. 

Every character has his/her own backstory and so there’s a lot going on. But Backman juggles them with ease. You don’t lose track of the main plotline when the characters take you through their individual lives. You can see yourself or your loved ones in them. You can relate to their flaws. You struggle with the same problems. It’s all very humbling and calls for some introspection. 

Backman has battled anxiety and depression all his life and he explores these complex topics in all his books. In Anxious People, the book that apparently took the longest to write according to the author, these mental health issues are once again taken up with love and compassion. Despite dealing with heavy topics, the novel is refreshing and fun as Backman is witty and that keeps the narrative non-preachy. I’ve already recommended the book to my family and friends and I can’t wait to discuss it with them when they are done.

Five stars 

Fiction

Anxious People

Fredrik Backman

Translated by Neil Smith

Published: 2020

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Pages: 339, Hardcover

At this point of my life, I am so done with ‘blockbusters’. I watched a few of them recently and could not relate to the hype they got. I mean why would people line up in the wee hours of the morning to watch a movie that has no logic, poor screenplay and is just a collection of visuals that together make no sense? Different folks, different strokes, I guess.  

But what pains me more are films that get good critical reviews but fail in the box office as they’re overshadowed by the blockbusters. The 2022 Hindi-language sports drama “Jersey” turns out to be one such film. Written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, Jersey, now available on Netflix, is a remake of a 2019 Telugu film with the same name. 

I have watched both the versions, and thoroughly enjoyed each. Why? Because both have a brilliant script, earnest storytelling and impressive acting. (Here I review the Hindi version.) Shahid Kapoor in the lead gives one of the best performances in his film career–a role that unfortunately was criminally underrated. 

Arjun Talwar (Shahid Kapoor) is an amazing cricketer from Chandigarh, India in the mid-80s. He has the highest batting average in all of India and is a strong contender to enter the Indian national team. Unfortunately, because of nepotism in selection, he does not make the cut. A frustrated Arjun then quits cricket for good. 

Fast forward to 1996, Arjun is living a quiet life with his wife Vidya (Mrunal Thakur ) and son Kittu (Prit Kamani). He has been fired from his job on corruption charges with an ongoing trial to settle the matter. He is basically jobless and dependent on Vidya. When Kittu, a cricket academy student, asks Arjun to buy him an Indian team jersey for his birthday, he is rendered helpless. The jersey is unaffordable and Vidya outright refuses to lend him the money since she is running the house on a tight budget.

This brings Arjun back to the cricket ground, solely for money at first. But when his son nudges him to play more, Arjun, at 36, rejoins professional cricket. His attempts at regaining form and making another attempt to get into the Indian national team again makes up the rest of the story. 

Jersey is a feel-good movie with a sad, unexpected ending. But it is also a story of hope and struggle which does not leave the audience depressed in the end. The makers have put in every effort to make the movie realistic and relatable to a nation that eats, sleeps and breathes cricket. 

This is not Shahid Kapoor’s first film as a cricketer but this is where he shows how much he has matured as an actor. Kapoor drives the film forward with his skills and temperament. I read some people complain about how his acting in Jersey is similar to the 2019 movie “Kabir Singh” and I beg to differ. 

Kabir Singh was an arrogant, possessive and violent lover who had a wealthy family to back him up. Arjun Talwar is a desperate father who wants to make enough money to buy a cricket jersey for his son. There can be no comparison between the two characters. 

Kapoor gives a brilliant acting performance and makes you believe no one else could have carried out this role of a professional cricketer with such aplomb. The effort he has put in picking up the nuances of batting shows. But the credit must also go to the filmmakers who hired sports action director Rob Miller to ensure all the cricketing scenes are professionally choreographed and directed. The team deserves extra points for making that effort because many Bollywood sports films just fail to convince the audiences that their characters can actually play the sport in question. 

Who should watch it?

Jersey is a beautiful film without much theatrics and can be enjoyed by people who love cricket or just enjoy good movies. The 2hrs 50mins length seems a little long but then I can’t recall many boring scenes that drag the film down. 

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Sports drama

Director:  Gowtam Tinnanuri

Actors: Shahid Kapoor, Mrinal Thakur

Run time: 2hrs 50mins