Taish (Movie Review)
Originally performed in Japan, Taish is a one-man show with a non-linear narrative. It is adapted for film to make it easier to understand. Despite being non-linear, the story is filled with rage and anger, and it takes its title ‘rage’ far too seriously. The show begins with a man smashing his head with a wash basin, and jumps back and forth between the past and present.
Bejoy Nambiar’s Taish
Bejoy Nambiar’s revenge saga Taish is another fine effort from this maverick filmmaker. Shot almost entirely in the United Kingdom, the film takes an unorthodox route to telling the story of a vendetta. It’s stylishly shot and edited, and Samrat pulls off a tough role with ease. But despite its flaws, Taish is worth seeing.
Bejoy Nambiar is known for directing critically acclaimed short films. His first feature film, Shaitan, was a thriller in 2011. Following that, he directed the bilingual gangster comedy David. Last, he directed Dulquer Salmaan’s Solo, a biopic based on the mythology of Lord Shiva. The film was received positively by critics, but there are still a few questions remaining.
Unlike many other films, Bejoy Nambiar’s film has an unusually frantic tone. Characters flip out more often in his films than in those by other filmmakers, yet his style is a perfect balance of style and substance. The movie examines the nature of violence, treating anger with frankness, and glorifying what it has to. Bejoy’s Taish is a riveting and moving experience.
While Bejoy Nambiar’s evocative and powerfully acted film has great ambition, it falls short. The female characters, especially, lack real depth and seem to be mere extensions of the lead actor, Shaitan. Oftentimes, they are even talking over each other, which is incredibly incongruous. It’s easy to get swept up in the rage-driven chaos, but that doesn’t mean the film is any good.
Sunny (Pulkit Samrat)
This crime drama is a gripping and tense thriller based on the lives of two friends. Rohan and his friend Arfa have a morbid encounter with a gangster named Pali, who kills Rohan’s brother and puts him in jail. As the gangster’s protege, Rohan becomes disheartened and begins to withdraw from society, blaming Pali for the death.
The film begins with Pali’s escape from prison, but this ends badly for him. After he crashes his car, Sunny kills him in cold blood, out of honour and love for his brother and Jahaan. Sunny then shoots and strangulates Pali, who is dying of his wounds. Rohan witnesses his brother’s death and watches Sunny die. This gruesome revenge plot is a twisted and tragic end to a tale that is full of complexities.
Pulkit Samrat has always delivered good films and this new film is no exception. The maverick director Bejoy Nambiar and the talented cast give a thrilling and engrossing ride with their witty performances. Despite being a maverick, Pulkit Samrat pulls off the role with ease. In this revenge drama, he plays two separate characters with very different arcs.
The film is based on the popular Mahatma Gandhi saying “Violence is not necessary,” and this is one of the many themes of the film. Although Sunny’s stand on violence is somewhat ambiguous, he nevertheless adheres to the popular saying that “we must never forget that violence is unjust”.
Pali (Harshvardhan Rane)
It is a revenge drama that takes the concept of unbridled brawn and testosterone to extremes. Sunny plays a ‘hero’ typical of Bollywood films, wearing ganjis to show off his abs, while Pali plays a gangster with lover-boy weaknesses. Rohan, a London-based doctor, plays a ‘good guy’ struggling to deal with childhood trauma, and attempts to introduce Arfa to his Indian parents.
Despite the dark tone, Taish is a well-made crime drama set in the UK. It follows the lives of five characters and their quest for revenge. The cast includes Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Jim Sarbh, Abhimanyu Singh, and Sanjeeda Shaikh. The film is being released as a film and a six-episode web series simultaneously.
Despite his rugged look, Harshvardhan Rane’s rough and tumble role in Taish mesmerized his fans. The character is the brother of the head of a money-laundering family, and he has an affair with his wife Jahaan. The actor worked hard for his muscled physique, and he’s not afraid of getting cut.
Although the film is about a gang, it’s ultimately a movie about style. The characters have lost touch with reality, as evidenced by the 5-way ways to wear kitchen towels as clothes. Pali (Harshvardhan Rane) appears in Taish prison wearing cornrows, but emerges with tattoos of an ECG graph and a key. But these are not only signs of style, but of reality.
Ageuma Shinji of Tado-Taisha Shrine
The annual festival of Tado-Taisha shrine is the Ageuma Shinji, which involves jumping on a horse. This ceremony, which is considered the strangest in the world, tells the future, such as whether the harvest will be rich or poor. The horse jumps are performed by six young men representing each district. The ceremony is based on the belief that the result will affect the rice harvest.
The festival is held annually on May 13. The ageuma, or samurai, Hanagasa, enlightenment, is the patron saint of the city of Kyoto. It also has other significance. The samurai lord, the samurai Hanagasa, is also celebrated in this festival. The Shinkai ascended to the second stopnia in 863.
The Tado-Taisha Shreen is located in Mie Prefecture, and is related to the Ise Shrine. This shrine is also home to a powerful horse jumping festival known as “Ageuma Shinji”. This shinto ritual is performed during the Tado Festival in May. During the Ageuma Shinji, the horse carrying the jockey rushes up a steep slope.
In addition to the ageuma, the festival is held at Toin-cho town in Mie Prefecture. The shrine is built on a keyhole-shaped tumuli and the former Emperor Tenmu lived in the town. The “Ageuma Shinji” festival, originally known as “Koi Shinji” in Toin-cho town, was once a popular religious event.
Harshvardhan Rane
After appearing on the Left Right Left TV series, Harshvardhan became a part of the Hindi film industry. He gained notoriety for his role in the movie Sanam Teri Kasam. In 2013, he was tapped for a lead role in Taish Horse. His latest release, Haseen Dilruba, stars Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey.
After his successful Bollywood debut four years ago, the actor has already done three movies, laying a strong foundation for the coming year. After starring in Bejoy Nambiar’s multi-starrer Taish, he will appear in Vinil Mathew’s murder mystery Haseen Dillruba, a co-starrer with Taapsee Pandu. The movie will hit theatres during the first quarter of 2021.
The two men responsible for the success of Taish are rivals in the London underworld. Pali is a member of a Punjabi mafia and works for the corrupt Kuli. His girlfriend was forced to marry him. This means he’ll be his protege, disrupting Kuli’s business and causing him to lose his faith in love. Pali casts a dismal look.
Bejoy Nambiar, an award-winning director, returns to the big screen with a revenge saga that features a stellar ensemble cast. Taish takes an unconventional route to tell the revenge story, and it’s shot and edited in an attractive manner. The ensemble performances are also noteworthy. The cast of this film is strong, with Pulkit Samrat, Kriti Kharbanda, Jim Sarbh, Abhimanyu Singh, Sanjeeda Shaikh, and Harshvardhan Rane.
