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This reviewer sees Hindi his­torical dramas like Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmaavat (2018), and now Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, as little windows into the rich history of the Indi­an subcontinent. You don’t watch these mainstream Bollywood mov­ies as perfect reflections of the times and the characters they sup­posedly represent. They rather gloss over nuances and twist histo­ry to glorify the protagonists, often larger-than-life personas who can seemingly do no wrong. Frankly, if they tried to capture history as it is, these movies would be niche art-house productions that would be watched by few. And Bollywood is all about minting money by playing on people’s emotions. Manikarnika (with its titular role played by Kangana Ranaut) is the same. A Brahmin girl with “qualities of a Kshatriya” is born in Varanasi (currently in Uttar Pradesh). She is the daughter of Moropant Tambe, a courtier to the Pesha (modern-day prime min­ister) of nearby Bithoor district. By and by, she is married into the royal family of Jhansi, an indepen­dent princely state. Renamed ‘Rani Lakshmibai’ after her marriage, she gives birth to a son, who unfor­tunately dies only four months later, robbing Jhansi’s throne of a natural successor.

 Who should watch it?

The fans of Kangana Ranaut and of her signature successes like ‘Queen’ and ‘Revolver Rani’ will love it. So will anyone interested in the legendary Jhansi ki Rani—if they are willing to forego some historical nuances.

After the death of their son, the royal couple adopt a son, Anand, who is later renamed Damodar Rao after their dead son. Soon after, Lakshmibai’s husband and the reigning Maharaja of Jhansi, Gan­gadhar, too dies after a prolonged illness. The British, the de jure rulers of Jhansi, refuse to accept Damodar’s claim to the throne, and decide to annex the princely state. The film is a tale of how Lakshmib­ai, even with a small force at her disposal, tried to valiantly defend her besieged state against the scheming British.

As a cinematic spectacle, there is little not to like about Manikarnika: a well-crafted conspiracy-leaden plot; thousands of colorful troops, men and women, engaged in pitched battles, with swords and guns and canons; well-choreo­graphed songs; a sense of being transported back into the mid-19th century India at the height of the British Raj. Everything is well done.

But, again, it would not be a Bol­lywood blockbuster if it didn’t take some liberty with history. In one scene, Rani Lakshmibai is seen jumping, a child strapped to her back, off the roof of a fort hundreds of feet high—straight on the back of her faithful steed, Badal. In anoth­er, a mature-looking Manikarnika marries Jhansi’s Maharaj, while the historical figure actually got mar­ried when she was just 14. The mov­ie also controversially expunges the rani of any involvement in the 1857 massacre of unarmed English women and children in Gwalior. Let us just say ‘Manikarnika’ is not afraid to take convenient shortcuts to spice up the plot.

At 2 hours 28 minutes, the film is a little long, but considering the immensity of the subject it is based on, just about bearable. Ranaut, who is also the director of the film, delivers another masterful perfor­mance in the lead role (if you are prepared overlook her unnatural ability to leap and bound, as well as some stilted dialogues coming out of her busy mouth). Danny Denzongpa as the queen’s trusted head of army is also convincing. There are no major acting snafus as such. But Ranaut is the front and center of the film and she carries it with some aplomb.

Movie: MANIKARNIKA: The Queen of Jhansi

Genre: Action

CAST: Kangana Ranaut, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni, Ankita Lokhande

DIRECTION: Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, Kangana Ranaut

When you’re hanging around the Basantapur area, where do you go to eat? It’s either the old school local bhattis offering ethnic Newari dishes or the posh modern cuisine restaurants. So its history vs modernity. But the Firefly Café near the busy Basantapur dabali offers you the best of both worlds. A multi-cuisine restaurant, Firefly emphasizes Newari food and ambience, and is housed in a traditional Newari building, which in itself is a piece of heritage. Damaged by the 2015 earthquake, the building has been resurrected to stand impressively over the ruins of Basantapur and the interiors are given an elegant touch of modernity, while the traditional Newari architecture is accentuated to preserve the building’s antiquity.

Keeping in mind both the tourists and the locals, Firefly offers continental and Indian food apart from its scrumptious selection of chhoela, bara and samaya baji set, at the fairest of prices.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Alfredo Chicken Pasta

- Fusion Style Chatamari

- Tofu Rosemary

Opening hours: 10 am - 10 pm

Location: Basantapur

Cards: Not accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 1,500

Reservations: 01-4241562

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ is Celeste Ng’s second novel. Her debut novel, ‘Everything I Never Told You’, was a New York Times bestseller and won the Amazon Book of the Year Award in 2014, beating out works by Stephen King and Hilary Mantel. Just like her debut novel, Little Fires Everywhere too begins with a catastrophic event. But here, unlike in Everything I Never Told You, it’s not a death but a raging house fire with the owners contemplating the smoldering ruins of their house in Shaker Height, Ohio, that you are faced with at the beginning of the story. The rest of the book goes back in time and follows the chain of events that led to the tragic end.

Book: Little Fires Everywhere

Gere: Fiction

Author: Celeste Ng

Publisher: Penguin Press

Pages: 338, Paperback

Set in the 1990s in a seemingly perfect neighborhood in Shaker Heights whose strict rules and protocols make it an ideal community, the story is based on the clash between two families, the Richardson family and their tenant, Mia Warren and her 15-year-old daughter, Pearl. The Richardsons, an upper-middle class family, are living their utopian life when nomadic Mia comes into the picture and Mrs Richardson blames her artistic inclinations for causing disruptions in the community.

 At its core, Little Fires Everywhere is about motherhood, love for a child, and the testy waters of adoption: “To a parent, your child isn’t just a person, your child was a place, a kind of Narnia.” Ng addresses what it means to be a mother and that it isn’t just another role a woman plays in life. Rather, it becomes the most important identity for her from the first time she holds her baby. Through the subplot of a well-off white family adopting a Chinese baby, the issues of race and intercultural respect are also brought to the fore.

What makes the book interesting is Ng’s attention to small details of everyday life. Everything from Pearl’s growing closeness to the Richardson kids and the tension of the custody battle between Mrs Richardson’s friend and Mia’s colleague plays out quite brilliantly. And the narrative is neither too fast nor does it drag on. Ng has crafted her characters so well that you feel like they are people you know personally. You understand the teenage angst Pearl is going through and despise Mrs Richardson for her headstrong ways while Mia’s resilience makes you wonder what it takes to be like her.

All in all, Little Fires Everywhere is a good novel but you never completely warm up to it either. It isn’t a book that will have you pondering life and its intricacies once you are done but, since you will be able to identify with one of the large cast of characters, you will find yourself questioning your morality and wondering what you would have done in similar circumstances.

‘Garud Puran’ was touted as a good movie even before its release. (Or at least a few people in my circle, who suggested that I watch the film, thought so.) In the trailer, the plot appeared bland and the dialogues stilted. But I still wanted to give it the benefit of doubt. Never judge a book by its cover, right? But my worst fears were realized when I actually saw it. At no point did I laugh. Nor did the film evoke any feeling other than utter ennui. ‘Garud Puran’ is the story of four central characters. Henriks (Najir Hussain) wants to go abroad to work and has already been cheat­ed four times while trying to do. His friend Rambo (Karma), is a virgin eager to lose his you-know-what. So you can expect an over­dose of sexual innuendos and double-entendres, and which, in fact, were more cringe-worthy than funny.

To the plot, then. Henriks and Rambo are best friends. Karan (Pra­been Khatiwada) is in love with Jyo­ti (Priyanka Thakuri), who is always demanding an Oppo phone and sounds like she would sleep with anyone who meets her materialis­tic needs. The whole film revolves around these four characters.

There are many things not to like about the film. First, its name. Garun Puran is a Hindu scripture believed to help departed souls go to heaven and inspire the living to pursue a meaningful life. But the movie has nothing to do with any of these themes. Second, parts of the film have no logic.

For starters, it opens with Hen­riks’ family walking to the airport with band baaja even as his flight ticket is unconfirmed. Who does that? Then, at the end, all central characters come to a park where there is a bag with Rs 7 million in cash, of which Rs 5 million is fake. Two protagonists take out a few lakhs of real money. (Don’t ask how they knew which bundles were real.) In the end, the police nabs the single villain who is caught with fake notes.

Who should watch it?

If you are a die-hard slapstick comedy fan—good, bad, ugly, you like them all—and can put up with a poor plot, then you may enjoy it. Otherwise, don’t bother.

The pacing is inconsistent as well. The directors, it appears, tried to copy scenes from similar Bollywood movies like ‘Golmaal’ and ‘Dhamaal’. But without a fresh twist, these efforts fail miserably.

The background score is praiseworthy though, fitting the scenes well and making charac­ters come alive. The cinematogra­phy also elicits audience hooting in places.

 The movie’s central failing is that the directors push too hard to evoke emotions in the audience

Karma and Najir Hussain both entered the cinema world after their successful theater careers. Perhaps this is why they are uncon­vincing at the start of the film and their acting gets better as the movie progresses. As her first film, Pri­yanka’s acting can be considered passable. Loonibha Tuladhar, who plays Najir’s overbearing aunt, per­fectly fits the role: comedy, after all, is her forte.

MOVIE: GARUD PURAN

GENRE: Comedy

CAST: Najir Hussain, Karma, Priyanka Singh Thakuri

DIRECTION: Subash Koirala,Sushan Prajapati