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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
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Do Paise Ki Dhoop, Chaar Aane Ki Baarish (Hindi)

By Golu
Made in late 2011, this film was never officially released in India, until recently when somehow Netflix got the rights to this film and released in late 2019. Directorial debut from a famous 70s and 80s actress, I was looking forward to seeing this film. It would be wrong to classify the film in LGBT genre but given that one of the three main protagonists is gay and we do talk a lot about relationships in t his film, its only fair that it should be reviewed here.

Debu, a wanna lyricist, has been recently dumped by his boyfriend of 3.5 years and hence he is out of a place to live. A chance encounter with an aging prostitute Juhi on that rainy night changes things for him. The two bond over old hindi music and she hires him to take care of her wheel chair bound son Kaku, who cannot talk and needs constant attention. Juhi has strained relationship with her son as she is too busy making ends meet, to give him time. Arrival of Debu changes the equation between all three of them. Juhi only later realizes that Debu is gay but doesn't judge him. They both share their past of how they ended up being in the situation that they are in. Slowly the 3 of them start to live together and enjoy together, although slowly Juhi's work reduces since the customers now only want younger girls. Everything is going well, till one day suddenly Debu gets a call from his ex-boyfriend. Debu is excited to meet him only to find out that he is getting married and wants to just make sure that Debu will not tell their secret to anyone else. He comes back heartbroken but that night Juhi tries to seduce him coercing that he has to try with a woman. She wants to hold on to him but the next morning he leaves home leaving a letter saying that their relationship has now become complicated and that it will be hard for him to live there any more. Juhi and Kaku are heartbroken, but eventually he comes back asking Juhi that they can't live as a couple but surely the three of them can live as a family.

The title of this film is the first thing thats strikes you., Its very poetic just like the title song of this film. You know not to expect a mainstream film, rather a very nuanced, slow film that will probably rely a lot more on silences and eyes doing the talking rather than the dialogues. A lot of conversation between Debu and Juhi happens using old hindi songs, which is interesting for a native speaker. Rajit Kapur does an absolutely fantastic job as Debu never stereotyping gay mannerisms and always keeping the positive attitude and happiness around him. He emotes effortlessly, displaying pain, helplessness, pleasure and happiness aptly, and he is the one who makes this film look real. Manisha Koirala as Juhi has played similar roles in the past, so you expect her to give her best and the kid performs well too. It's the screenplay and direction that holds this film tightly together. The treatment is very respectful. Mumbai's monsoon season and the backdrop of rain is used a lot throughout the film which helps describe and live the moments in life of our protagonists.

The film sometimes get too wordy and slow and therefor will not appeal to even the language speaking audience. I, for a change quite enjoyed it. India doesn't put out many respectable queer characters in their films, but this was good for a change. (6/10)
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