Movie Review: Zara Hatke Zara Bachke (2023)

I watched Zara Hatke Zara Bachke on JioCinema. 

Starring Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke is a comedy film. 

I had seen the promos of the film when it was released and expected it to be a lighthearted comedy based around the theme of "divorce". But I did not know that the movie had much more to offer. I found this movie as a lovely take around the theme of survival of marriage in a world plagued by corrupt government agencies. Vicky Kaushal has done an amazing work and establishes himself as a 'natural actor'. And Sara Ali Khan has given her best in another movie worth remembering. Rest of the cast is also very effective. 

With 8/10, I would rate Zara Hatke Zara Bachke as a lovely family entertainer with a good social message. Especially married couples should watch it to get taste of a life untouched in usual movies. 

- Rahul   

  

Curious Case of ICICI Bank Sending New Debit Card Unnecessarily

I got an email from ICICI bank saying my debit card was due for renewal and if I had any change in address, I should update using either net banking or by visiting nearest branch. I happened to recall that my debit card was not that old, and it should not be due for renewal. Hence, I checked my debit card physically and found that its validity lied 4 years ahead in future. Why should the bank send me a new card 4 years in advance? If there was a big technological change (e.g. when chip cards were introduced) or when big regulatory changes happen, it could be justified, but not now. 

I checked my email text and it had mentioned last 4 digits of my debit card and it did not match with my existing card. 

I logged into my net banking and went to debit card tab, and it displayed by debit card and its last 4 digits matched with the number mentioned in the email! It seemed the bank had already updated new card it planned to send with my customer ID. 

Hence, I called up the customer care number. The guy said he would verify and needs a few minutes. As the call went on a while and he put it on hold since it was taking time in his system to fetch data, I thought to re-verify my debit card number in my net-banking, just in case he asks any other info. And this time, I saw that the debit card number had changed and now it displayed my existing card number! 

As predicted, the customer care executive came back online and he said now that he could see that my existing card number was still mapped, and its validity was still remaining so I should ignore the email since the bank won't be sending me a new card.

I was shocked. How could debit card number change in my net-banking record, without someone doing something to update it? 

I thanked him and went back to ignore this episode. But not without a suspicion that most likely the bank was pushing some of its "costlier" debit card to me "forcefully" and since I called customer care and demanded answer, they abandoned their plan. I shall still be watchful if the same happens again in future. And you should too. 

- Rahul 

P.S.: I got a call from bank afterwards and the executive verified my details and upon learning that my existing debit card is Mastercard, he said the reason why the bank had tried to send new debit card was because I had Mastercard while the bank was now issuing Visa. Again, this explanation looked suspicious because as per recent direction from RBI, banks are expected to give choice of card-network to the customers. Hence, ideally, the bank should ask me if I wanted Mastercard/Visa/Rupay card and hence the explanation that the bank was sending me Visa card looked not credible. Also, his acceptance that the bank was sending me a new card was contrary to the initial feedback from customer care executive who denied any such attempt to send new card to me. Hope the governance of the bank is in safe hands and they are not doing some unethical business practices. 

Movie Review: Wonka (2023)

Wonka (2023) is a musical fantasy comedy film. After having watched legendary film 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (2005) where Willy Wonka's character has been immortalized by Johnny Depp in one of the best flicks ever made, I had very high expectations of Wonka (2023).  Also, because the movie was much hyped and marketed across the world. But after watching it, I had mixed feelings.

First of all, the casting of Timothée Chalamet in the role of Willy Wonka was the best thing about this movie and a 'masterstroke'. Timothée has done many other period drama films and already shown his immense talent. Willy Wonka's role came as a cake walk for the super talented actor. 

In Wonka (2023), we are exposed to an imaginary world designed on the pattern of "colonial Europe". The movie shows most of the exploiters as White/European. We also see plenty of characters of African origin and hence the place has become totally of mixed-race which is a design in Hollywood these days. The masters are shown keeping slave-like servants. The characters speak in a comic way, and there is a background score to help too, in trying to make an impression that we are watching a comedy or a children's film and perhaps also hide the depressing exploitation going on in the plot where most people are shown as cheats and thugs. All the businessmen are painted as dishonest capitalists in the movie. 

There is a small girl of African origin, who says, "the greedy beat the needy every time Mr. Wonka. Guess it's the way of the world." Seems pretty harsh reality thrust down the throats of children watching a magician making chocolate with "liquid sunlight" and "condensed thundercloud". I did not like it. 

It is okay to tell kids about evil people; after all monsters and demons are a constant in children's stories. But it is completely different to show evilness in "everyday people" because that is something which belongs to the adult world. The movie seems like training children into becoming cynics and plotting a society suffering from isolation and broken families. 

The movie shows other chocolate makers bribing a policeman in order to stop Wonka from selling chocolates; teaching children about jealousy, bribery and dishonesty of police. 

Later, in order to gain favor, Wonka tells the associate of the hotel owner that "she loves you", and in a rhyme, tells him to "show her some thigh" which is highly objectionable. I wonder why teaching immorality to young audiences was necessary for the film-makers. 

Somehow everyone in this movie speaks while looking at the other person with eyes wide open "without blinking". It gets very weird after a while. 

There are lots of scenes moving at very slow place and it is almost boring. The movie brings an weird scene where Wonka is milking a giraffe and the scene is shot in the most boring way possible while Wonka talks to the girl (without blinking his eyes, of course). 

The movie is revolving around lives of "orphans" which is supposed to be depressing enough for kids. But the movie makers have tried hard to make it 10 times more depressing by shooting most of the scenes in the dark and confined places. Yes, even the giraffe in the zoo is shown standing inside a "room". 

On the plus side, the movie shows humans "flying", perhaps playing on the kids who love imagining it. A little consolation for an otherwise insane plot. 

After the "flying with balloons" scene, Wonka dances with the girl from African origin, and it is almost romantic; which should have been strictly no-no for a children's movie. All children's stories tell about kings and queens who are married, but it is a different thing altogether to show that a teenage boy and a girl made to dance in a romantic manner without any context or need in the plot. 

Due to its absurd plot and the movie makers not able to decide who their target audience were, and hence mixing children's imagination with commercial greed of the adult world, I would rate Wonka (2023) as 4/10. I would rather wish to have given it a miss. 

- Rahul