Welcome again to FOMO Fix, your weekly dose of what to observe — and what to dodge — throughout movie and tv. This week, we take a tough take a look at revisionism in storytelling: the sort that reimagines historical past with objective and perspective, and the sort that distorts it to suit an agenda.
From the jingoistic innovations of Kesari 2 to the smarter narrative selections of Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin, we unpack the necessities of revisionism.
Also this week, we applaud a pointy animated satire from Ramy Youssef, a surprisingly efficient thriller with a horrible identify — Crazxy — and a take an trustworthy take a look at representation and appropriation in Superboys of Malegaon.
HYPE CHECK: Kesari 2
“Beep off.”
“Beep right off.”
“Go beep yourself.”
“Get the beep out of my country.”
Yes, that’s the entire assortment of Akshay Kumar’s punchlines and “winning arguments” in Kesari 2, a movie that takes a nugget of historical past and revises it into jingoistic mythology.
Despite criticism for historic distortion — and plagiarism accusations over a Yahya Bootwala poem — the movie has collected over ₹70 crore in its second week. But this courtroom drama is not any The Trial of the Chicago 7 or A Few Good Men. Those movies made the battle of concepts compelling with well-crafted arguments and ideological nuance — not simply one-sided F-bombs thrown round like confetti.
Tarantino rewrote historical past too — by killing Hitler in Inglourious Basterds and saving Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But when you’re presenting an alternate timeline, the least you are able to do will not be promote it as The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh.
It’s not simply dishonest — it’s straight-up pretentious to finish the movie with names of real-life victims adopted by an asterisk: “Names from public domain.” Translation: “No attempt was made to verify these names, but Aaron Sorkin did it too, so… vibes?”
Representation? Akshay Kumar performs Sankaran Nair — which now apparently makes him an skilled on all issues beginning with Ok: Kerala, Kathakali, Kalaripayattu. Meanwhile, R. Madhavan is incredible within the movie — making you surprise: why isn’t he Sankaran Nair?
Why not keep true to the e book it’s primarily based on — The Case That Shook the Empire? Maybe as a result of actual historical past doesn’t fire up the nationalism quota sufficient to impress? The solely historical past lesson Kesari 2 teaches is that Bollywood doesn’t care about representation, sensitivity, and even fundamental screenwriting — even when coping with one of the crucial haunting tragedies in Indian historical past.
TV GOLD: #1 Happy Family USA
In the wake of the Pahalgam tragedy and the surge of hate Muslims throughout India have endured recently, the present to observe is Ramy Youssef’s animated collection #1 Happy Family USA on Prime Video.
Set within the aftermath of 9/11, the present follows the cultural fallout confronted by the Husseins — now below the scanner for being Arab.. Ramy leans into absurdity, throwing in nosy neighbors, shady FBI brokers, and even the American President.
Yes, George W. Bush exhibits up for a sleepover. The lead, a young person named Rumi, joins a punk rock band. “We need Satanic Verses — Rushdie, not Rumi.” (That line alone deserves a standing ovation.)
If you favored Ramy or Mo, this one belongs in your watchlist. If you haven’t seen both, it’s time.
HEADS UP: Crazxy
You know these titles which might be attempting too laborious and flip you off immediately? Crazxy — sure, that’s “crazy” with an X — is considered one of them. Surprisingly, it’s truly good.
Sohum Shah stars on this real-time thriller a few bag of cash, two events ready for it, and escalating stakes. He can both use the cash to save lots of his profession — or ransom it to rescue his kidnapped daughter with Down syndrome. What would you do?
The thriller not often slows down — apart from one surprisingly tense tyre change mid-surgery. By the top, you’ve had a lot enjoyable, the marginally predictable climax barely issues. If it had simply been titled ‘Crazy’, extra individuals would’ve watched it.
STREAM THIS FIRST: Superboys of Malegaon
Zoya Akhtar’s Superboys of Malegaon, on Prime Video, is a fictional adaptation of Supermen of Malegaon, Faiza Ahmed Khan’s beloved documentary. It’s a traditional case of cultural appropriation. Not solely does it fail to credit score the unique as “based on” or “adapted from,” it offers it a shoutout — like tagging it in a meme.
To be truthful, the movie — written by Varun Grover — is entertaining and lovingly captures the spirit of Malegaon’s mumblecore parody-makers. But the documentary already did that — with authenticity and humility.
The appropriation right here is twofold: A privileged member from the Javed Akhtar household tree — Sholay lineage and all — will get her writing companion Reema Kagti to direct as an alternative of empowering somebody from Malegaon to inform the story. And it mines a marginalised, low-income group whereas sidelining a documentary filmmaker — one of the crucial undervalued voices within the trade.
So how do you rejoice with out appropriating? Take notes from Netflix. When they acquired One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez’s sons insisted it’s made in Spanish, shot in Colombia, utilizing native expertise. That’s known as platforming the individuals who lived the story.
Want to rejoice the filmmakers of Malegaon? Start by watching Faiza Ahmed Khan’s Supermen of Malegaon on YouTube — earlier than streaming the fictional take.
JUST SAY NO: You (Netflix)
This will not be a suggestion. This is your cue to skip. The stalker collection You has ended after 5 seasons. While the present had its guilty-pleasure highs, the ultimate season gives nothing new. The thrills are limp, the ending is predictable. and the Joe Goldberg is simply too tame for a psycho we’ve watched get away with homicide for 5 years.
Landing a present is an artwork type. This one crash-lands into clichés. Skip the FOMO. Embrace the JOMO: Joy of Missing Out. Watch Jewel Thief as an alternative. The Vijay Anand one.
Published – May 02, 2025 09:05 pm IST
