anniversary‘s irresistible celebration of cinema, with all its good, bad and ugly ways, lives up to its title, applauds Sukanya Verma.

The indelible quality of cinema can evoke memories in our subconscious made on screen. What becomes lore are the behind-the-scenes actions and scandals that are lived out vicariously and enduringly through rumor and gossip.

Vikramaditya Motwanes anniversary Time travels to the golden era of black and white Hindi films and combines the two in a spectacular feat of narrative panache and classic panache.

The 10-part series (five episodes have been released, five are coming Friday, den 14 Soumik Sen goes far beyond a sober affair.

anniversary begins on the brink of India’s independence, celebrations of which are punctuated by the horrors of partition and a general sense of insecurity and unrest that afflicts those displaced afterwards.

Back in Bombay (as it was then officially called), the city of dreams and the birthplace of Hindi cinema, the show goes on and its close-knit, self-absorbed magicians will do whatever it takes to draw audiences into the theatres.

Srikant Roy (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Sumitra Kumari (Aditi Rao Hydari) are stuck in a bad marriage when divorce was considered a dirty word husband-wife duo of actors Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani.

Roy tries to control life on and off the screen, while Sumitra’s need to break out of the toxic cage leads to a torrid affair with Jamshed Khan, a theater actor (Nandish Singh Sandhu) that her husband hopes to launch as the next big thing Madan Kumar – Khan hero nahi bante isliye naam badal diya hai (a nod to Yusuf Khan’s Dilip Kumar, a nod to any khans who would rule in the future) – in a project entitled Sunhursh (Interestingly, a film Dilip Kumar was working on in 1968).

But India’s violent political climate has other ideas in mind, giving Roy’s right-hand man Binod Das (Aparshakti Khurana) a chance to pursue his suppressed acting dreams and become an overnight star named Madan Kumar.

Back then, Devika Rani’s romantic involvement with the original hero Najm-Ul-Hassan resulted in his being ousted and moving to Pakistan forever, while his replacement, a Bombay Talkies technician named Kumudlal Ganguly, became an anniversary star the world now knows as Ashok Kumar.

Sabhwarwal’s juicy mix of fact and invention is the heartbeat of it mad MenChronicles in the style of Hindi films through the prism of history – power of radio, inquisitive government, the artistic propaganda of the Soviet Union, German directors and engineers, bans on film songs, American-Russian rivalry for monopolizing the overseas market, popularity of Radio Ceylon and musical countdowns, live on-set orchestras and the birth of backing vocals.

connecting his’azad desh ke ghulam‘ Feeling from then to now, like when someone scoffs, filmon ka karobar kuch saalon mein Government ke andar aa jayega is as farsighted as it is predictable in its tendency to never learn from past mistakes.

Speaking of the past, Motwane’s sepia has been soaked anniversary originally had a monochrome image in mind, but found it practical to limit it to the authentic-looking black-and-white opening credits. It’s the grays of human behavior that he focuses on most.

Technically, it’s an intricately assembled 35mm epic, with research and detailing in every department – ​​sets, costumes, background music, cinematography, character building and production values ​​– being as in-depth as it is meticulous.

He delivered one of the best soundtracks of his career around Anurag Kashyap’s jazz-heavy milieu bombay velvetAmit Trivedi has no problem sending us back in time anniversary.

One of his tracks, pictured on Arun Govil (nice to see the actor taking a break from godly duties) — Chandu Naache Chanda Naachi — is an infectious interpretation Shire 420its melodious enigma, Ichak Daana Beechak Daana.

Every single song harkens back to the melodic nostalgia of the 1950s.

Sometimes it also rubs off on the dialogues.

It’s easy to see Bazithe chart buster Taqdeer Se Bigdi Hui Tadbeer is the inspiration behind a character’s line,’Daav lag gaya na teri taqdeer ban jayegi teri.’

But anniversaryTrumps are his nuanced, deeply internalized performances, particularly of Aparshakti, Prosenjit and Wamiqa Gabbi.

Aparshakti’s transformation into Madan Kumar is a complete departure from his clownish imagery. He’s a revelation as the complex guy who silently carves his way to success and yet pays the price of being his master’s blue-eyed boy.

Tormented by a debt befitting a Shakespearean play triggered by a Shakespearean actor, anniversary plays with the duality of his fear and the two Madan Kumars – the star and the ghost – and lyrically sets them in the context of India’s tryst with fate.

Where his Madan Kumar is reminiscent of Ashok Kumar Babu Moshai Roots and Dilip Kumar’s intense acting school, the struggles of his suave, aspiring filmmaker friend Jay Khanna (an apt Sidhant Gupta) highlight the plight of scattered Punjabi refugee families starting a new life in a disorderly camp in Sion.

A mix of Dev Anand’s easygoing charm and Raj Kapoor’s theatrical family roots in Pakistan, Jay’s sharing an umbrella in the rainy scenario, a la Shire 420 while a script called peddles taxi driver, anniversary salutes Bollywood’s original trinity.

Guru Buns Kaagaz Ke Phool stars in Prosenjit’s pipe-smoking Roy, a ruthless visionary who zooms in and out on the art deco architecture of his precious studio, which he is bound to protect at all costs.

A feat akin to a dagger being gently stabbed in the gut. Prosenjit shows his control but never his cards.

As his bitter half, Aditi Rao Hydari’s vintage styling often gets in the way of the spite and contempt it’s meant to convey. Playing a domestically damaged studio boss like a spoiled brat at an elite SoBo club, her soulless role is a tenuous challenger to sexist beliefs that insist masses follow male heroes.

Despite being billed lower, Wamiqa Gabbis Nilofer dances her way to the top in Motwane’s golden age yarn.

A woman of substance with her head firmly on her shoulder, ready to flirt and fib for her place in the sun.

A cocktail of Cuckoo, Minoo Mumtaz and Sheila Ramani’s okays and seduction, the actress elevates a spunky cliché into a living wire of flesh and blood.

It’s a largely supportive character, but Shweta Basu Prasad’s grace and generosity as Bipin’s understanding wife create an easy dynamic for her anniversary fall behind.

Each episode, which lasts nearly an hour, is loaded with emotional conflict and dramatic ammunition that fires off gloriously, leaving an awed viewer who cares least about runtime and realism.

A punchy exchange between Jay’s wannabe director and the boorish financier (Ram Kapoor, who as usual steals scenes in brief appearances), a lip-sync song-and-dance demonstration that takes advantage of pre-recorded songs by Madan Kumar and Prosenjit for the good von explains a skeptic, an impromptu audition that overshadows a sinister psyche — anniversary‘s irresistible celebration of cinema, with all its good, bad and ugly ways, lives up to its title.

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