Woda No. 6 - 'Halka Ramailo' Bhanda Mathi Chha!

Movie: Woda No. 6

photo courtesy:
facebook.com/PriyankaKarkiOfficial

Director: Ujwal Ghimire

Starring: Deepak Raj Giri, Priyanka Karki, Dayahang Rai, Kedar Ghimire, Sitaram Kattel, Jitu Nepal and more

In my eyes: *** (out of 5)

A comedy that does not say ‘leave-your-brain-at-home’. A social drama that has the ability to touch the hearts. Combined together and blended just right. Presented in a way that entertains the audience thoroughly. This is Woda No. 6. Every places has both good and bad elements there; likewise, this “woda” is also not free from the flawed elements. But as long as the entertainment matters, this movie is super successful.

Time-zoned at fictional place Jhulebasti Woda No. 6, Nuwakot in 2058 B.S., this movie is set against the backdrop of civil war. Smells different? A bunch of comedy actors and the serious issue? Do not worry because it carefully balances both in the way we have never seen in a Nepali movie. Neither does the maoist conflict over-sensitize nor does the comedy over-shadow the core point of the movie. This is the best thing of Woda No. 6.  

It does not discuss the goods and flaws of civil war, neither does it portray the political backdrop. What it shows entertainingly and sometimes heart-touchingly is the small effects of that war period on common villagers that turn their life upside down. Story is simple where dialogues play the winning role and the plots happen to be the engaging factor. Credits goes to writer Deepak Raj Giri and the director Ujwal Ghimire, specially for taking out the controlled performance from actors and preventing it from being loud.

Margarita, with a Straw - Heartwarming

photo credit:
facebook.com/MWASOfficial

A girl in her late teens is talent, confident and full of excitement. She loves a guy, seeks for his love and want to have the sexual pleasure. This is very normal for other ‘normal’ beings but supposedly, not for a girl with a cerebral palsy. What if she starts loving a girl too? Not normal, eh! But meet Laila and think again about the people with disabilities and different sexual orientations. Like any other normal people, they also have the similar desires and pursues. Their abnormality is but just one other side of a life. Love your ‘self’ being, love for what you are. This pretty much sums the Margarita, with a Straw – directed by Shonali Bose.

photo credit: www.bollypedia.in

Margarita, with a Straw is not about the cerebral palsy or bisexuality; it is a heartwarming tale of a teen girl suffering from cerebral palsy and discovering her sexuality. It is wonderful that the movie shows the normal features of the character Laila. She is wheel-chair bound and depends highly on her mother but that doesn’t let her self-esteem down. She studies creative writing, she wants to flirt, she watches the porn, she has a crush on a guy, she writes lyrics for a band and she dances. When a judge awards the band as a consolation just because the lyrics is written by a girl with disability, she can show them a middle finger too. She is challenged - yes, but defeated - NO.