Golpe de Classe

There will be a special place in my heart for this film. This film can be considered as one of the finest films of this year. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and others do a fantastic job. Story and screenplay is also good. Definitely recommend 👍.

Ayyan Mani (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is an ordinary man, leading an ordinary life. Professionally, he is the PA to Dr. Acharya (Nasser) the lead scientist at NIFR and is absolutely convinced that his boss is fooling the world with his wacky research on alien microbes but puzzled about how convincing and confident the latter is, in getting away with lies. With the birth of Mani's son Adi, he hatches a grand plot of exhibiting his slow learner kid to the world as a prodigy and a genius in the making, thus achieving the extraordinary aspiration of societal recognition and adulation.

Adi grows confident due to Mani's incessant guidance, illegitimate mechanisms for catapulting him to fame and popularity, using which the latter gains the recognition that he otherwise would never have achieved. It's a grand secret between the father and the son, but like all good things, it must come to an end. The repressed childhood of Adi, and his inability to act without assistance slowly starts getting to the child, something that can potentially destroy him mentally. Mani has to find an exit strategy to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Adi, and is ready to pay the price for it.

Serious Men, directed by Sudhir Mishra is a tale of a twisted mind that refuses to succumb to the ordinary and will go to any length to realize his dreams, by hook or by crook. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is par excellence as the master manipulator, who is least concerned about the lack of maturity of the young mind, piling on agony on the child with psychological overload. But Serious Men belongs to the child artist Akshath Das, who absolutely captivates with his charm, innocence and complex psychological emotional demonstration, especially when he is unable to handle the burden any longer. Serious Men is a diabolical essay that waltzes on the screen in the garb of a socio-comic drama that gradually returns the young mind to sanity and normalcy, but not without collateral damages. It does leave some important messages for parents who overload their children to rise to the competitive world, without being preachy.

Serious men is based on the book of same name and tells the story of a over-enthusiastic office assistant, who would go the extra mile to get the respect he deserves along with is son. The movie on one side focuses on a High IQ child prodigy, who seems to blessed with natural intelligence and inquest while the other side parallels the games played by individuals from all the strata of society to get what they want. The whole premise tends to reach a boiling point when the core sub-plot unfolds sometime in the middle.

Gradually though, despite the humour in the situations portrayed, especially in the satirical take on corruption that knows no social barriers, and despite the entertaining audacity of abundant strategies, the film reveals its hollow centre, only to pick itself up in the last 20 minutes with a liberal dose of practicality.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is at is usual best in his portrayal of a Ayyan Mani. Indira Tiwari and little Aakshath Das do their parts well. Nassar as Dr. Acharya a shrewd, no nonsense arrogant director of a government-run scientific research institute excels the most. Director Sudhir Mishra tries to put in too many punches but only a handful land on where it is intended. Adapted screenplay may not have done enough justice to a good story. Cinematography, casting, music, costumes and production design were decent. Make up was a little over done.

Overall, not a perfect movie but Serious men is funny and poignant in equal parts, it's a mix of complexities that exist around us and the state of affairs that we live in and ignore. Watch it for Nawaz who yet again proves that he has the ability to play wide range of characters convincingly. It is high time that parents in India stop using their children as insurance policy for their future.

The kid (Aakshath Das) shines in Serious Men, a social drama that reminded me of Malayalam comedy Salt Mango Tree (2015), and which is more about the stress that children feel at the hands of their ambitious and competitive guardians and less about class divide despite the montages that show otherwise. Here, the kid's father (Nawazuddin SIddiqui), hailing from a backward caste and having an antagonistic view of the world, uses the caste card and his child to aim for the stars, garnering applause and hollow fame on the way. But for what? Serious Men goes on to throw social commentary at you on how the rich and the influential act as parasites on the downtrodden with ample amounts of quirky humour and useless fillers. But, notably, it also gives you a peek into the ill effects of over ambition, giving a spine-tingling climax to an otherwise humdrum proceedings. Siddiqui, Indira Tiwari, and Nasser are all well-directed by Sudhir Mishra, who has finally had a good comeback since Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011). If you are not ready to accept what Serious Men tells, and not preaches, you, this will be a fine afternoon affair. A better watch to parents with young kids. TN

Serious Men - Not at all a usual movie watching experience, it's very much different from other movies. It touches various social issues throughout the film especially the caste system. Cinematography is done brilliantly, every frame speaks itself. There is so much humour throughout the film and it's very good.

Now, there is Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead role, so it's obvious that there will be no complain about acting. But the show stealer is of course the child actor Aakshath Das. Nassar & Indira Tiwari also support the film very well. Hope to see Indira Tiwari in future again. Finally Sudhir Mishra is back again in his old form.