Miss Lovely Review

What is it all about?

Welcome to the dirty sleazy world of booze, lust and hawas shooting those bare blurred bosoms in the shanty alleys of Mumbai during the 80's... `Miss Lovely' is a real docudrama of the 80's reel world naked `satya' (read truth) expose of India's soft porn c-grade horror culture.. remember those dayans, aatmas mingle in those jungles.. boys telling lies to watch those videotapes..

Documentary filmmaker Ahluwalia tells us what was beneath in those videotapes and films - the dirty world of India's c -grade soft core porn and beyond..

The Story

Circa 1980's when Amitabh Bachchan was the name synonymous to box office success and B-town top jockeys Manmohan Desai and Praksh Mehra dominated the bollywood box office derby on one hand and on the other the Ramsay's where having their say at Indian horror with Purana Mandir, Sannata, Darwaza and all in the mainstream city theatres. `Do Do Gaz Zameen Ke Neeche' (read in a shanty by lane) Vicky Duggal (Anil George) is shoots some moans amidst dappled lightings and a shaky camera for `clips' to please the horny men in remote theatres and behind the camera (his clients). Duggal younger brother Sonu (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is the one with some `chetna' (read conscious) in him and is not in favour of getting blown by this `blues' he spots Pinky (Niharika Singh) a wannabe actress and falls heads over heels in love with her decides to make a saaf sutra clean romancer `Miss Lovely' starring Pinky to launch her as a proper B-town heroine.

Big brother Vicky has his own sleazy plans for Pinky path cross and hell breaks loose where the gory, uncompromising, dirty and filthy truth of this world gets exposed and the life of Vicky, Sonu and Pinky gets exploited in heat of b-town soft porn lust.

What to look out for

In the land of Kamasutra adult entertainment is not legalized but the business is running in an organized manner since decades. Producer Sanjay Shah deserves a pat for going beyond and beneath the sleaze writer director and editor Ashim Ahluwalia attempt is certainly bold. Miss Lovely stands out as a different out of the box piece of art that enjoys the docudrama mood but still remains stylish and ends with a haunting feel.

The settings, the environment, the smart use of footage and even those real actors of B-town underground sleazyistan make an impact. Production Design and costume by Tabasheer Zutshi is in sync with the era. Art Direction is precise. The background sets the mood. K.U. Mohanan cinematography is fitting. Editing is crisp.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is so natural and completely effortless. Brilliant. Niharika succeeds in charming her way. Anil George is excellent.

What not

Prefers to sail in exploring b-town sleazy avail the makers refuse to go deeper. Misses layers and is not as emotive as it should have been.

Conclusion: If you collect Indian art house and have a good stomach then `Miss Lovely' is a must-see. It will `blue' you away.

Rating ***