MISS LOVELY Review

Release Date: June 19, 2014 (Limited)
Director: Ashim Ahluwalia
MPAA Rating: NR

Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely is the type of tragedy that starts off grim and never lets you come up for air until the credits roll. Set in the seedy underground film scene of Bombay in the 1980s, the film spins a gritty yarn about two brothers who work as smut peddlers, shooting and distributing z-grade horror/sex flicks to the rural grind houses. Everything about this film feels dirty – the cinematography, the settings, even the characters themselves – an appropriate pairing, given the film’s heavy subject.

Miss Lovely acts as part cautionary tale, part time capsule for the state of underground cinema in India during this time. Anil George plays Vicky, a ruthless and coldhearted “filmmaker” doing what he can to make a buck. His partner and brother Sonu, played wonderfully by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is more of a romantic, someone with dreams of making legitimate cinema.

After Sonu meets and falls in love with a woman named Pinky, played by Niharika Singh, he decides to make a romance picture and cast her as the star. After Vicky discovers this, tempers flair, and it becomes clear that no one will be coming out of this unscathed.

Ahluwalia is previously known for his documentary work, and that experience shows with Miss Lovely. Although very much a fictional story, it’s shot using tight handheld camerawork, giving it a documentary feel. Scenes feel very much of the time, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought this was a film from the ‘80s. It’s grainy and ugly and nasty, yet somehow he captures the beauty behind it all, delivering a film that is incredibly satisfying visually.

While much of the film’s focus is on the two brothers and their unhinged relationship, it’s also a film about underground cinema in India. It takes place from the mid ‘80s through the early ‘90s during a radical shift in the culture of movies. The days of the grindhouse were ending, and more people were gravitating toward home video. Pornography is also illegal in India, which makes things even more difficult for the brothers to do their work. We also get glimpses of several clips of the movies they create, which appear as if they were straight out of this time period. Everything from the framing to the entirely-too-bright-red-looking blood, Ahluwalia nailed these recreations, proving to be one of the major highlights of the film.

Miss Lovely employs a freeform style of plot, meandering from one scene to the next with no concise sense of direction. Although this is clearly the intention of the director, some viewers may find it draining, especially considering the extremely depressing content. A film like this is not meant to energize you.

This is a tough movie to endure, but it’s still a great commentary on a time period in Indian cinema that, for better or worse, has nearly been forgotten. If you’re looking for a fun Bollywood production, this is not the film for you (although there is a musical number). If you’re looking for a well-shot indie about the dark side of cinema, then Miss Lovely is definitely worth a gander.
Miss Lovely is currently playing at the Downtown Independent in Downtown L.A. and Cinema Village in New York City.