New movies released in Navi Mumbai
By Dinesh Kamath
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran is an
Indian historical action drama film directed by Abhishek Sharma and produced by
Zee Studios and JA Entertainment. The film is written by Saiwyn Quadras,
Sanyuktha Chawla Sheikh and Abhishek Sharma. The film is based on the nuclear
bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran in 1998. It
features John Abraham, Diana Penty and Boman Irani.
The movie is based on the nuclear
test conducted by Indian Army in Pokhran, Rajasthan in 1998. The film provides
a look at India's first confidential nuclear test series at Pokhran led by Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam, during the time of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure. The film
is touted as an edge-of-the-seat thriller and Diana Penty plays one among the
group who successfully conducted the nuclear test at Pokhran in 1998. Many
sanctions were imposed on India after the test. Most people do not know how India
went about becoming a nuclear superpower which included the entire process and
the obstacles the country had to face. The fact that CIA was watching and yet
Indians had to do it when they were not watching which was a task in itself. Abhishek
Sharma, the director, is a walking talking encyclopedia on India’s nuclear
tests. His research on the subject is highly commendable. Ask him anything from
'74 and '98 and he has all the answers. He has taken great pains to stick to
the facts. Almost 24 years after Smiling Buddha -- the code name for India’s
first nuclear tests -- the country was ready to test its mettle again. The
venue where the nuclear tests were to be carried out remained the same --
Pokhran in Rajasthan, about 350 km from New Delhi -- as was the secrecy that
surrounded the tests. The entire operation was top secret as there was a
massive international pressure on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government not to
carry out the tests and the US’ satellites were mapping every move in India.
Nonetheless, the tests were carried out successfully in May 1998 and termed a
logistical victory. It is this operation that John Abraham-starrer Parmanu –
The Story Of Pokhran attempts to present on the big screen; John Abraham is
playing an army officer named Ashwat Rana, in charge of the entire operation.
He handpicks his team that includes specialists of different fields. The onus
of keeping everything secretive lies with John. The film is inspired by true
events -- the subterfuge used by the team to keep the operation top secret. The
tests were carried out by the Vajpayee government, and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was
the scientific advisor for the project. It was called Operation Shakti and five
nuclear explosions took place -- three on May 11, 1998 and two on May 13. The
entire operation was divided into three phases. The thermonuclear device was
placed in a shaft code named ‘White House’, which was over 200 m deep, the
fission bomb was placed in a 150 m deep shaft code named ‘Taj Mahal’, and the
first sub-kiloton device in ‘Kumbhkaran’. The first three devices were placed
in their respective shafts on 10 May, and the first device to be placed was the
sub-kiloton device in the ‘Kumbhkaran’ shaft, which was sealed by the army
engineers by 8:30 pm. Indian agencies used many methods to hide their
operations from the prying American satellites. Most of the work was carried
out during the day time and as desert of Pokhran provided no cover, artificial
sand dunes were created to give everything a natural feel. The bombs were flown
to Jaisalmer from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai. From there,
they were taken to Pokhran on trucks. Scientists wore army uniform to stay
under the radar. The attempt was to show that the Indian Army was going about
its business in the usual manner. India had shown the willingness to conduct
nuclear tests before 1998 as well, but the news travelled to the west faster
than their expectations, and the country had to deal with enormous diplomatic
pressure resulting in the operations being halted. Work was mostly done during
the night, and equipment was returned to the original place to give the
impression that it was never moved. Bomb shafts were dug under camouflage
netting and the dug out sand was shaped like dunes, a natural sand formation in
the Thar. Cables for sensors were covered with sand and concealed using native
vegetation. Scientists would not depart for Pokhran in groups of two or three.
They travelled to destinations other than Pokhran under pseudonyms, and were
then transported by the army. India joined the Big 5 states after these tests.
The country had to face some problems initially, but in due time, everybody
accepted that India is no longer a state that will play by the rules set by
others.
The film has John Abraham as Capt.
Ashwat Rana, Diana Penty as Capt. Ambalika, Boman Irani, Vikas Kumar, Yogendra
Tiku, Darshan Pandya, Zachary Coffin as Stephen, Mark Bennington1, Abhiroy
Singh, Ajay Shanker and Anuja Sathe.
The music of the film is composed
by Sachin-Jigar and Jeet Gannguli while lyrics are penned by Vayu, Rashmi
Virag, Sachin Sanghvi and Kumar Vishwas . The songs featured in the film are
sung by Arijit Singh, Divya Kumar, Yasser Desai, Keerthi Sagathia and Jyotica
Tangri. The film has songs like "Shubh Din", "Jitni Dafa", "Thare
Vaaste", "Kasumbi", "Sapna" and "De De
Jagah".
Book Club
Book Club is a 2018 American
romantic comedy film directed by Bill Holderman, in his directorial debut, from
a screenplay by Holderman and Erin Simms. It stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda,
Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen as four friends in their 60s who read
Fifty Shades of Grey as part of their monthly book club, and it begins to
change how they view their personal relationships.
Four older women spend their lives
attending a book club where they bond over the typical suggested literature.
One day, they end up reading Fifty Shades of Grey and are turned on by the
content. Viewing it as a wake up call, they decide to expand their lives and
chase pleasures that have eluded them. Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed
after 40 years of marriage, Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings
attached, Sharon (Candice Bergen) is still working through her decades-old
divorce, and Carol's (Mary Steenburgen) marriage is in a slump after 35 years.
The lives of these four lifelong friends are turned upside down after reading
the infamous "50 Shades of Grey," catapulting them into a series of
outrageous life choices.
The film has Diane Keaton as Diane,
Jane Fonda as Vivian, Candice Bergen as Sharon, Mary Steenburgen as Carol, Andy
García as Mitchell, Don Johnson as Arthur, Richard Dreyfuss as George, Craig T.
Nelson as Bruce, Alicia Silverstone as Jill, Katie Aselton as Adrianne, Wallace
Shawn as Derek, Tommy Dewey as Scott, Ed Begley Jr. as Tom and Mircea Monroe as
Cheryl.
No comments:
Post a Comment