Godmother

So perhaps this film has broken box offices internationally, perhaps it is being perceived as one of the best films of all time, but heres the thing, it was only regarded a 'moderate' film in India where the story is home.

Why? Well the truth is, the film industry has once again glamorised and exaggerated the story of someone to their endeavor.And only the people at home know the truth. Although disputed, its common knowledge that Santokben Jadeja at least inspired the movie, one of the most notorious gangsters in the Gujarat inspiring a movie would suggest some sort of mafia reincarnation such as Goodfellas or Scarface. In my personal opinion, Rambhi was made to look like a heroine, 'a woman fighting to live in a male-dominated world'?? A woman who actually doesn't care about any women but herself, who sits back and watches murders and other atrocities happen in the hands of her own son. No this is not the real tale of this woman, she is glorified in Godmother, in real life a villain, a monster, a beast. This is why the Indians refused to watch three hours of rubbish in the cinema, refused to waste their money and time when they could see the real truth from their front window. The film is just that, a film, not biographical, not reality, not truth.

Putting aside Bollywood's somewhat unusual narrative pace and plot structure, this is an excellent movie. Shabana Azmi is simply stunning in her portrayal of Rambhi, a simple farmer's wife who moves to the city with her husband and, when her husband is killed, becomes a veritable mafia Godmother, killing every opponent without so much as a blink and fighting the corrupt political system only to increase her own political power.

At the same time, it is a movie with a strong feminist twist, as it is the belittled widow who becomes the most ruthless and influential politician in the district; and in the end, when she realizes that she has made some serious mistakes, it is also a very progressive plea for tolerance and understanding -- "what unites a community also tears it apart".

There are a few plot holes here and there and you have to forgive this film a few Bollywood idiosynchrasies, but it's still an easy 9/10.