Jhund – Writer/director Nagraj Manjule’s ‘Jhund’ (Horde) is the story of the hard-knock life of teenagers and young men growing up in a slum of Nagpur. Living a life of petty crime, drug use, violence, and family dysfunction, they have no hope and no future. These youngsters are poignantly played by non-actors. Flamboyant and talented, they have raw energy and attitude. Their vast slum is hidden away from the elite college next door by a brick wall, where they are unseen and uncared for, without education or opportunity. “Jhund’ was inspired by the real-life story of Vijay Barse, the founder of NGO Slum Soccer. He is ably played by Amitabh Bachchan as the retired sports teacher. One day he happens to see slum kids playing a small game of pick-up soccer. Impressed by what he sees, he believes exposure to sports can lead them to a better direction in life. As he coaches them, they begin to find hope in the future. After many struggles, he goes on to found Slum Soccer, where soccer clubs compete with other slums nationally. This is an inspirational sports drama with compassion for the less fortunate at its heart.
Released March 4, 2022
Salaam Venky – The film, based on the book ‘The Last Hurrah’, tells the true story of a mother and her tragically ill 24-year-old son. Vishal Jethwa as fragile Venky has a rare disorder called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a progressive muscular disease that will eventually lead him to helplessness, total dependency, and death. When the movie opens, Venky is struggling to breathe. He is rushed to the hospital. Sujata (Kajol), his worried and exhausted mother paces, waiting anxiously for the doctor to arrive. As his condition worsens, it is clear that he will not be leaving the hospital this time. One by one, we are introduced to those closest to him. We get a sense of his thirst for life and his relationships. Venky and his doctor are playfully sarcastic with one another. His nurse helps him pass time as Venky teaches her to play chess. Sweet memories of time spent with Nandu, his childhood companion who is blind. Finally, his mother, Sujata, has taught him to fight all his life, but now she must learn to let go. Venky wants her permission for euthanasia, something that is against the law in India. This is a life-affirming story of how a mother’s love can fill her child with courage and make his short life worth living.
Released December 9, 2022
Jogi – The best of humanity and the worst of humanity are revealed in a film by director Ali Abbas Zafar. In June of 1984, PM Indra Gandhi ordered an attack on the holiest of Sikh temples, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. Four months later she was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. That same night in New Delhi, Sikh neighborhoods were set on fire and many Sikhs died. Although the characters in ‘Jogi’ are not real, the incidents that followed the assassination are. Jogi is a working-class Sikh living with his extended family in the Delhi neighborhood of Trilokpuri. He is horrified to see masked men show up on his street, determined to kill Sikhs and burn their homes down. It seems a local councilman who controls the police, has emptied the jails and is paying the prisoners to kill Sikhs. His motive is his ambition to rise to power purging the voting rolls of Sikhs who he believes will not vote for him. The army will not arrive for three days. Ordinary man Jogi rises to the occasion by trying to save as many of his family and friends as possible; first by moving them to a temple and then by embarking on a journey to Punjab. Jogi is helped by two friends: Rawinder, a Hindu policeman working against his superior, and Kareem, a Muslin, who gives him a truck and supplies. Diljit Dosanjh is well-suited as an ordinary man who finds the courage to face danger to save innocent lives. ‘Jogi’ is an emotional story of tragedy, greed, and hatred defeated by friendship, kindness, and hope for the future.
Released on September 16, 2022 (Netflix)
