Kaustubh Rajnish I have so often come across unknown films which have a unique superlative buzz going for them. For example people from the film festival circuit rave about it and that odd critic would announce that it is a never before made film. You would have never heard about these movies in the mainstream but its content, cast and style would definitely attract you. You go on IMDb and those odd 15 user reviews would be calling it a landmark film. Unfortunately when you actually catch the film you are going to be disappointed and you will wonder did I miss something here or did my movie get hype killed. Miss Lovely completely belongs to that category. It's a sweaty, fuzzy look at the C-grade porn / horror industry of the mid-eighties in India. Apparently there were a set of people who made these kinds of movies, wore Hawaiian shirts like Miami gangsters and smoked quite a bit of cigarette and drank cheap liquor. The story is about two brothers who are into making C-grade horror/porn movies. They deal with some real Mafioso type guys who are constantly abusing and beating up the elder brother for no apparent reason. Soon the younger one gets smitten by a random dimple cheeked girl and decides to make a movie with her. This leads to further complications and a devastating end.Unfortunately in spite of having a very interesting premise and an absolutely incredible cast Miss Lovely suffers from the art for the sake of art syndrome. It is slow, plodding, its camera shots though exquisite linger on for no end, its script is really not explained properly and its core message lost in a mess of multi-layered narrative which can't seem to decide whether it is a documentary or a movie. So if the so called New York educated director Ashim Ahluwalia wants to show that these C-grade movies are shot at the dead of the night, he will first show a 15 second still shot of an empty Mumbai road and only then cut to a bunch of sweaty people shooting the film in a dingy room. Some people will smoke cigarettes. Some will spew curse words. Some would simply stand in chaotic arrangements looking sleazy. A woman with too much make up would wither on bed.Soon the movie will cut to the next scene leaving you to wonder what the point of the previous scene was. This scene will have the camera linger for 15 seconds on a man waiting to be let in a dingy room and then eventually the man will be let in and have an unimportant conversation with a random sweaty character. For some reason the director expects film watchers to get excited with this kind of drivel. Why? Simply because no one has done it before On the upside, the camera angles are up close and personal which gives the film a chaotic in your face look. I was breathing hard to simply catch a wide angle shot half way in the film which is a significant achievement for the makers as I guess as the style mirrors the suffocating, dirty and chaotic world the characters inhabit. The production design is plain brilliant and kept me occupied when I would completely lose interest in the film's story (which was at least 10 times during the movie). Ultimately though, Miss lovely is a sad piece of cinema and by sad I don't mean as in story but it being a poor piece of filmmaking. There is so much wastage of time that the film's pace never really picks up. The action of the actors makes no sense because the director does not really even attempt to explain what is happening in the film. Key incidents are sprayed sporadically across the film. Somebody dies; the police catch our protagonists and beat them up for no reason. A bunch of people shoot a C-grade movie and a woman takes her clothes off and then the scene cuts to another shot. You are basically watching a random set of very well shot scenes which really never come together as a whole. I have often seen films from Asia getting undue attention just because they showcase things the west has not seen before. Whether these films actually merit appreciation is another matter. Miss Lovely is similar. Oh wow, a film on the C-grade Indian film industry which is not Bollywood and it looks authentic ….oooh how exotic. Of course the complete lack of a coherent storyline, poor pace and a screwed up narrative completely kills Miss Lovely and the reviewers seem to overlook that.I guess I would have enjoyed it more as a documentary but then the film never really explores even that in detail either. There is a long haired sleazy director or for that matter a midget producer who comes and goes, it would have been exciting to hear their back stories or their characters to play a role in the film. Unfortunately instead of utilizing these well played out characters the film is busy trying to be a thriller. Of course, since it is made for a western audience Ahluwalia can't just help and slip in a song and dance sequence and there is an old Biddu / Nazia Hassan song rehashed in a beautifully shot but unrealistic sequence towards the end of the film.Ahluwalia might have tremendous talent and am sure if he chooses to make another film I might try to catch it just for the way he frames a scene but I hope he realizes with Miss Lovely that a script, narrative and pace are equally important.Till then, I would recommend to give a miss to Miss Lovely especially for anyone who values time and good cinema.

crazyomon Miss Lovely is very different. It takes you to the world never seen before. It engages you, moves you and makes you think. Like Niharika said, you can't forget this film if you've seen with an open mind.Miss lovely is located in mid 80's. It's about two brothers, Vicky Duggal and Sonu duggal who make sex-horror films. They have very different personalities though. There comes a struggling actress, Pinky in their lives. The movie is all about ehat happens next. The C-grade world is captured just perfectly in this film. The scenes, parties and all other things look very real. Performances are raw. And very realistic. You can feel the same as character on the screen is feeling. Nawazuddin is just brilliant. Anil, Niharika, Zeena, Menaka and other actors have done a splendid work too.The direction, the cinematography and the narrative style is very experimental. Must watch for cinema lovers. A movie of this uniqueness is not very often made.

Zelma Williams The story is about Sonu (Nawaz) and his constant conflict against his bossy elder brother Vicky (Anil George) who has trapped himself in the gutter of sleaze films in spite of being aware about its consequences and the endless darkness that lies beyond. A fraternity which juggles with aspects such as humanity and emotions purely to rake in more and more profit at the cost of sexually violating endless women on screen and offering an eye candy to millions on a weekly basis, Miss Lovely provides a detailed look on how a whole different society is developing in the underbelly of Mumbai and establishing its roots in various other territories in the country. This film is an eye opener especially in an era where inhumanities against women are spoken about loudly and protested against. I got totally absorbed in the atmosphere and the world and it left me with a lot to think about. It has sensuality and eroticism but never appears exploitative – and this is communicated in a way never before seen in an Indian film. Of course there is also violence and gore, and a general uneasiness throughout. Miss Lovely is a darkly disturbing and spellbinding film.

suzi yong Bollywood very proudly flaunts badges like mindless entertainment, leave your brains behind comedy, potboiler, masala entertainer etc. The award winning success of these films proves that there exists a larger population of people who step into the theater to consume these films and most of them find it real too.This is a master piece. I call this new age cinema. Those who are getting bored of Yashraj and KJ movies, will definitely like Miss Lovely.It would suffice to say that Miss Lovely is a film which is in a class of its own by such a far distance from its peers from the same house, that, by the sheer fact of its existence, it manages to add a chapter to the history of that very house.The character building is magnificent, which lets one flow with the story without any jarring effects.The distinct flavour of each new element and the twists introduced thereby make it worth the trouble of tracking the complex plot.