Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

PimpinAinttEasy Miss Lovely felt like another Indian film that shows off the poverty and the squalor (nothing wrong with showing off poverty but not at the expense of good characterization and writing). It portrays the low budget horror porn industry as exotic albeit sleazy. The framing and the hypnotic quality of the sound recording left me feeling very distant. The film is up to its neck in sleazeball porn movie industry archetypes - the tough hard drinking director who is at the mercy of producers, the producer/gangster/financier who is ruthless and violent for no good reason, hard drinking vamps who have vicious cat-fights and the one demure and kind hearted actress.Nawazuddin is his usual natural self. Anil George is yet another unremarkable actor who looks gruff and delivers his dialogs in a horrible aesthetically displeasing throaty growl. Niharika Singh was demure and beautiful. But there was nothing in her performance to write home about.And why was everyone mumbling and talking in low voices? It gave the impression that they were all talking behind closed doors or something. I liked the film's message - these desperate misfits/wannabe social climbers with absolutely no future were mere pawns for the powers that be. It is quite well made at the end of the day. But it was hard to overlook the demerits mentioned in the review.

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.

bobbysing Before talking about the film in details, I would like to draw a clear picture of that era when these 'C' grade films used to make a good amount of money in a hidden manner. In comparative terms, where today you can easily access loads of porn stuff on your computers, phones and tabs due to the limitless internet. There was a time when entertainment was just confined to a few hours of Black & White Doordarshan (from 6pm to 11pm) and the porn stuff was only available through some cheap road- side publications, for instance MASTRAM series (on which another Hindi film is being made to be released soon). Now in those times the moment Ramsay brothers found a new formula of bringing in the audience through their horror movies (in the late 70s), many producers began making films on the similar format including lot of sexy scenes & cheap sequences thrown in deliberately. Soon a separate but substantial market of these 'C' grade films was established and then after it started becoming monotonous or stagnant post a few years, a new illegal way was found to give it a new life.Honestly, I cannot remember any other film revealing this illegal twist in the trend, so clearly before MISS LOVELY. But director Ashim Ahluwalia boldly takes the lead and tells you all about the trick which was widely known as a 'BIT' in the inner circuit of film-makers and theater owners. Now this BIT used to be an illegal insertion of 5 to 10 minutes footage (or even more), randomly added into the running show as per the will of the projectionist, which had nothing to do with the main film at all. The BIT could be of a separate sexual shoot, a part of another bold film or even few scenes of a foreign X rated film acquired illegally. And since the viewers were not sure when the Bit would be coming, so they used to wait till the end and that actually made the show successful in terms of the tickets sold. The 'inside trend' became known to the authorities too after a while and then the Police used to raid such theaters in between the screening to catch them red handed, as rightly shown in the film.So in reality, MISS LOVELY shamelessly takes you on to an exposing tour of that era when 'uncensored porn' used to be an important part of this 'C' grade cinema, mostly shown in the smaller centers. The makers take a good care of its detailing; depicting a particular time period and the narration does work most of the times as per its chosen subject. Interestingly, one can easily spot many nostalgic props in the backdrop such as Black & White televisions, old cameras, radio advertisements (like Natraj Pencil), various models of VCRs and more. Background music makes an intelligent use of few famous songs of those years and dialogues are specifically written with many smaller lines keeping in mind the exact characters of its storyline.Unfortunately, despite all the above mentioned merits, I found the film not hugely engaging and entertaining, offering quite less than what was being expected in real terms. Because as per its novel, interesting and revealing subject, it ideally should have been an enlightening as well as an exciting fun ride, along with being a hard hitting take on that hidden trend in totality. But in the present version, it has a slow pace, which surely affects the viewer's set mindset, formed by all the articles he might have read about the film in the last few months. Yet the director does strongly expose the way young girls get exploited in the darkness behind the flashlights remarkably and the truth remains applicable even in the current decade of the new millennium, quite openly.Hence due to an extremely dark feel, tense settings and a slow paced narration, MISS LOVELY would appeal to only a limited section of audience, appreciating such thoughtful cinema. Plus many might not find what they were looking for in the film due to one basic reason, which in turn should be considered as a compliment for its director, undoubtedly. And the reason lies in the fact that despite being a film made on the subject of all 'C' grade sexual movies of that gone era, the director has never shot his sequences in the same cheap manner and shows a certain kind of elegance even in his scenes dealing with sex, porn or vulgarity. In the performances, Nawazuddin Siddiqui excels in his role of a man with mixed emotions and Anil George is a complete natural as his elder brother. Reportedly Nawazuddin did this movie long before he became the known actor of the present times and that indeed says a lot about his passion for the art and dedication. Niharika Singh plays her part well and so do Zeena Bhatia & Menaka Lalwani in their few scenes. The supporting cast provides good support to the film and I was pleasantly surprised to see the old age 'Indian Idol' contestant too, doing a small role in the film saying a few dialogues. In all, at one end the film is sure going to delight the lovers of meaningful, artistic cinema. Yet on the other it might highly disappoint the ones looking for the same 'C' grade kind of content, the film is focused upon. Nevertheless its basic message comes up pretty clear and straight that exploitation of fairer sex was, is and will remain an ugly part of the show business…………sadly…….forever. But on second thoughts, it is also a two way process based on the concept of 'give & take'……… so you rarely see anyone complaining?

lindsay columbus Brilliant...just brilliant. An exhilarating movie experience which demands to be seen only on big screen for its rustic visuals which takes you straight into raw and rugged heartland. Very very entertaining as well and suspense keeps you to the edge of the seat throughout. At times it made me feel i was born in 1960's. Though not for people with faint-heart, Nawaz bleeds excellence in almost every frame and every scene. An epic and brutal saga spanning over decades and generations.Watching Nawaz on big screen wasn't just watching a movie but an experience. An experience which also proves Ashim Ahluwalia as the face of new age Indian cinema after Miss lovely.