Currently watching this movie, pretty gory if I am being honest. My problem with it is, it was marketed falsely. The genre was supposed to be an educational sitcom, however, right now, thriller and horror are the only words coming to mind. The anticipation was large, it was supposed to be a blockbuster, completely out of the box. The reviews, not so much. People are unhappy with this one, and rightfully so. They were expecting more, since it was advertised in quite a grand manner.
Anyway, I will come back to the plot of the movie. So up till now, I am only a quarter done with it and it seems like the construction workers and set designers are apparently a part of this flick. They roam around randomly, painting, drilling and building, while the actors reluctantly continue doing their jobs. The fact that no actresses are a part of this thing is a specificity that I think needs to be emphasized.
The thing is, if someone told me I was watching the making of a movie and not the movie itself, I would believe them instantly because I do not think this movie is fully made yet. A film of a film, if you must. Another scene that illustrates this is the fact that the water supply is a bust. The water could be termed as a synonym for slimy, and the consequence is that actors are falling sick randomly. The atmosphere all around is that of rebellion. There is a buzz of complaint amongst the actors and they are gunning for a round table conversation with the producers of this film.
The producers, in their defense, are trying their best to be fancy, which is made clear by the installation of motion sensor lights in the vanity vans of each actor. However, they have clearly forgotten to account for the fact that there would be actual motion in the vans, constantly. It is the actors’ living space after all. So now, a good hearted attempt at luxury seems like a foolhardy attempt to torment since the lights turn on and off at any halt in movement. This is especially difficult to deal with after shoots — when the actors need their breaks in between shoots but their van lights keep turning off even at the slightest hint of respite.
Another major problem evident on the sets is that the internet connection is highly unstable and extremely weak. This can be seen in the frustration of the actors not even being able to use their electronic devices properly, which is a very major necessity to film their scenes. Their scripts and the notes they have written down to ace their performances can all be found on their phones or laptops but due to their inability to access that information, they are worried it might negatively impact their job. Again, a valid concern.
Lastly, this movie’s set seems to be made on a location so distant from the main lands that the actors are now completely isolated from the rest of the sets in the studio. Even for basic amenities like treating themselves to a burger or getting parcels from home or simply giving and receiving laundry while away from their homes, they have to tread through three to four different production sets which seems like a strenuous and illogical task to have to perform almost everyday.
An hour and a half through this and it has already become second nature for me, as a viewer, to empathize with the actors’ plight and villainize the producers of this extraordinarily incomplete movie. Promises were made to these poor actors and they are clearly not being kept, which is pretty unfair since they are now bound by contract to this movie and cannot really leave until it is over. Granted, the producers are taking steps to improve quality of living like getting cycles for the commuting process and trying to fix the plumbing but that seems to be the bare minimum. There is huge room for improvement as of yet.
This is my review till where I have watched but I do hope things continue to change for the better, as was hinted at during the interval. What I will say is that this film has potential to be a great watch as I have seen its prequels and they have been quite consistent hits so far.
End Credits Scene:
And now for the big reveal for people who did not grasp what I was trying to communicate throughout this article — not that I would be disappointed if you did not. This whole time I was describing the new campus of Ashoka!
Sorry for the deception, but there is no movie. It is an article about us! Minds blown? I will leave it up to you to go through this article again in its entirety and decipher the different metaphors that were painstakingly incorporated into it to get the message across. It did seem like a ‘hall’mark movie though, wouldn’t you all agree?