Pink *** ½

Dir:  Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

Starring: Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Amitabh Bachchan, Angad Bedi, Raashul Tandon, Vijay Varma, Tushar Pandey, Piyush Mishra, Dhritimaan Chatterjee, Vinod Nagpal, Dibang

Pink has something important to say: A woman’s body is her own and nobody else’s. No matter what the woman wears or doesn’t; no matter what the woman says or doesn’t; no matter what she does or doesn’t; no matter if she drinks alcohol or doesn’t; no matter if she is sexually active or isn’t. If a woman says "No", she means "No". No ifs or buts about it. After that no man has a right to touch her, grope her, force himself upon her. "No" means "No". This is the movie’s message and it hammers it home and mostly effectively.

The movie begins in the aftermath of an incident (not shown to the audience) in which three young women are shown fleeing and a man has to be taken to the hospital by his friends, a bloody gash over his eye. Soon the men are seeking vengeance and the women are forced to seek protection from the police. As events escalate the matter ends up in court and the women are forced not only to defend their actions but also their honour and dignity in the court of public opinion and in the eyes of society.

The movie manages to capture most of the nuances of how Indian (and Pakistani) society deals with independent, young women. Some scenes have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer but the movie largely overcomes this weakness (and perhaps the sledgehammer approach is actually needed). Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari (particularly fine) and Andrea Tariang are all very good as the protagonists and help ground the movie. It is actually Amitabh Bachchan, as the retired lawyer who comes to the rescue of the girls, who proves to be the weakest link because the Big B is in full "Acting" mode, with a capital "A". He overplays his hand, his baritone at his gruffest, various tics and mannerisms on prominent display and director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury isn’t able to rein him in (unlike his producer Shoojit Sircar who managed that difficult feat in Piku). Yet, Pink’s message is daring and the fine acting of the lead trio is able to surmount the lack of subtlety in some of its scripting and Amitabh Bachchan’s acting to make it recommended viewing.

Cut to chase: Powerful film with an important message.

Dir:  Jay Oliva, Ethan Spaulding

Starring: (voices of) Kevin Conroy, Neal McDonough, Hynden Walch, Matthew Gray Gubler, Troy Baker, Jennifer Hale

Amanda Waller (CCH Pounder) gathers her Suicide Squad to break into Arkham Asylum and break the Riddler (Matthew Gray Gubler) out of the institution before Batman (the Kevin Conroy) recovers classified information on her activities that the super-villain has stolen.

If you liked the live-action Suicide Squad movie then you should like this animated film which while having Batman in the title (and the Dark Knight does have a significant role in the movie) puts its focus squarely on the members of Task Force X aka The Suicide Squad. Not surprisingly, Deadshot (Neal McDonough) and Harley Quinn (Hynden Walch) get the most screen time but the Joker (Troy Baker) and Killer Frost (Jennifer Hale) also make their presence felt.

The animation is strong, the voice work is stellar (Conroy is reliable as ever, Walch delivers a fun Harley, and Troy Baker does an amazing impression of Mark Hamill’s version of the Joker) and the plot/ script hangs together. I quite enjoyed this.

Be warned: the movie skirts close to an "R" rating due to its violence, language, sexuality, and near nudity.

Cut to chase: For Suicide Squad fans.

Kmumtaz1@hotmail.com;
Twitter: @KhusroMumtaz

Rating system:  *Not on your life     ** Hardly worth the bother     ** ½ Okay for a slow afternoon only     *** Good enough for a look see     *** ½ Recommended viewing     **** Don’t miss it     **** ½ Almost perfect     ***** Perfection