User reviews

Miss Lovely will generally upset many people - for the simple reason that it sets up lots of genres/ premises - and unsuspectingly dumps them to move onto something entirely unexpected. As others have written, this is NOT the Indian boogie nights or whatever was imagined of it - it is, in essence, an experimental pulp film (if such a thing exists). This film is a deconstruction of genre (as i saw it anyway), and this becomes apparent when you see how it switches from noir/ thriller to romance film (part of the theme of the film itself) and takes documentary, porn, horror and musical in it's wide cinematic stride exploding/merging all of the above.

Clearly more than tell a straight story, director Ashim Ahluwalia is devoted to questioning, analyzing, critiquing and (at times) upsetting social & filmic conventions here.

Working outside of the 'Bollywood' industry, Ahluwalia explores a number of ideas rarely seen in Indian cinema: social outcasts as (tragically heroic) protagonists, uninhibited sexuality, changing roles of women in society and the critique of (or deconstruction of) social structures and assumptions. Sonu & Vicky Duggal clearly represent a new form of rebellion (they are clearly anti-state, anti-film industry, "criminal filmmakers" if you will), and therefore give domestic and international audiences a glimpse into lives that would otherwise likely escape cinematic exploration.

Having seen a fair amount of contemporary Indian cinema, Ahluwalia appears like one of the few true innovators within this nascent movement, and is - for this reason - one of its primary players, explaining interest from Cannes & Toronto.

a throwback to the days when love in the movies involved the mind as well as the heart. this film is such a truly unique mix of something that feels really old-fashioned (noir, classical love triangle, brotherly domestic drama) and yet extremely visionary and modern, almost postmodern. unique filmmaking from a director to watch.. i saw it at the Sitges festival in Spain. this forms an interesting double bill with a film i also recently saw - Peter Strikland's Berberian Sound Studio, set in the heyday of 1970s Italian horror cinema - although miss lovely makes berberian look like lite family entertainment in comparison!

In terms of comparisons - almost everyone has been invoked to try and describe miss lovely - PT Anderson (no, it's not boogie nights), twitchfilm even mentions that miss lovely is reminiscent of The Day of the Locust (perhaps - more the novel than the film), and mentions Brian de Palma. not quite. I've seen comparisons with Dario Argento, Von Stroheim.. What's interesting is that it's almost impossible to compare this movie with anything else in cinema - that's what makes it so unique and electrifying for me personally. It's just wholly individual and special. recommended!

Miss Lovely is not an easy movie. It's not a movie that will ever play at a hundred mutiplexes and draw large popcorn eating crowds. But it's a fantastic movie, a sweaty, fever-dream of a movie, and it's wonderful that people are engaging with it. There is simply nothing like it in Hindi cinema - and like it or not, that is one thing I'm sure no one can argue with.

Miss Lovely doesn't offer anything like a straight plot, and it has no real stars - save for the "discovery" of Nawaz Siddiqui (this film was his first lead role). He's great in it, as is another "discovery" Anil George (who plays the demanding elder brother with an intensity unseen before in Hindi cinema). For me however, the film belongs to Niharika Singh, who plays the mysterious 'Pinky'. On one level, she is a femme fatale of yore (like in a 1950's Noir film), on another she's a complete cipher, a blank slate. You can project anything you want on her and she absorbs it. This could be seen as insignificant characterization, but I saw it simply as a struggling character who exists in the shadows of the film industry, someone you know almost nothing about but around which most of the plot revolves - like an empty center. Her mix of coyness, intensity, disinterest, coldness & warmth is terrific and incredible subtle.

That said, this is one of my favorite films of the year so far, and I'm glad to see this kind of edgy, fearless filmmaking coming from India.

I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival 2012 and was left speechless - this is a really hard-hitting, pulpy, gritty and rather radical take on the underground sleaze film industry in India in the 1980s. Like Sam Fuller & Dario Argento got together to remake an underground Bollywood film - and that doesn't even close to describing it. It vacillates between unscripted documentary and pulp thriller, creating a new hybrid style that is unlike anything I've seen before. If you're a fan of hard-boiled cinema with an experimental twist, I would strongly recommend this film. Beautifully photographed in classic cinema-scope with a mix of vintage film stocks. exceptional.

Watched this at Cannes and early reviews were initially confused, almost dissuading me from checking it out and sometimes positioning it as a Boogie Nights style American film, other times describing it as Wong Kar Wai-like. IT IS NOT ANY OF THE ABOVE! It's expressionistic, strange, captivating, surreal, eccentric and one of the more beautifully designed movies in recent memory, specially if 1980s Asian pulp & auteur cinema appeals to you as it does me. Its fragmentary plot is uncompromising, yet deeply rewarding as a complex genre movie makes way for a much more poetic take on what it means to be trapped in a claustrophobic economic/ social world with no way out. Feels like a marriage between von sternberg and andrei zulawski (kind of)..def art house, though. The narrative is just straight enough to follow whilst being daring enough to baffle - many feel that the character of Pinky, the dream-girl that drives much of the film is too opaque, but for me she felt just right - a kind of mona lisa of the bombay underground. highly worth checking out.

A lot better than any other genre of this movie. If you can portray so much reality in a movie, then the movie maker is really outstanding. Reality in looks, in language, in expressions, in problems and their solutions. Reality can be more felt when someone is really from these regions of the world.

The kind of tension and awkwardness that is shown can be generally felt in these regions.

Most importantly I liked the posters of the film. They are like I am seeing the covers of 60s and 70s...

I was first alerted of this movie by the sheer waves it was making in the Cannes Film Festival, and for the very obvious reason that it featured the hugely talented maverick director, Ashim Ahluwalia, but after they won the award i was not surprised with the results.

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?

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.

Miss Lovely is a Cult Movie Based on the Life of C Grade Movie's Heroine. Who come with the Big Dream to Mumbai and faced so many problems.

Making semi-pornographic horror movies in Mumbai in the 1980s was apparently not easy: you needed to pay the police to turn a blind eye, and your available sources of finance weren't necessarily so benign either. 'Miss Lovely' tells the story of two brothers caught up in the industry, one of whom makes two linked errors: he falls in love, and he begins to dream of making a genuinely romantic film with the woman he's fallen for. It sounds like it could be a good film, but mainly, I found it confusing and chaotic - in part, this is intentional (as the world portrayed is also confusing and chaotic), but the lack of clarity and detail in the plotting is ultimately off-putting, and the ending a little abrupt and unfounded. The subject remains promising; but awaits a better treatment.

Films like these provide an eye opening reality to college students, especially those pursuing Media related courses in colleges. I would love it if the makers offered us an opportunity to perform a case study on every aspect of this film. Being a film student myself, I always knew of Ashim Ahluwalia. However this film has given me a chance to understand why he is an idol to many aspirants like me. The film is brave, crazy and goes against the tide. This sends out a strong message to all those who are clueless about the importance of emotions and humanity in an era where money has an edge over anything and everything. I for one am really happy that a film like Miss Lovely can be made and released. It offers hope to a lot of film students and younger filmmakers that something else other than the usual masala fare is possible.

Miss Lovely is clearly not for everybody. Plot logic in this film is choppy, sometimes disjointed, sometimes told only in parts. Sensation and twisted psychology matter more than linear storytelling. Mood, atmosphere and sound design fill in he remaining details that the story doesn't tell you. Now, if you are still interested, read on… For me, personally, Miss Lovely is a meticulously crafted aesthetic and political vision, employing a variety of forms/tropes (of artifice) to critique the mode of commercial Indian cinema. If you think about it – it has all the aspects of a classical Bollywood movie (2 brothers, a girl in between them, a love triangle, murder, conspiracy, betrayal, paranoia and a Nazia Hassan song!) – AND YET, it as far from a Bollywood film as you can be. Because, I believe it is a deconstruction of Bollywood, it takes all the elements and rebuilds them from the ground up. It offers another way to make an Indian film – and I'm all the more excited for it. It says (to me) – Indian film doesn't need to be "parallel" (read: village exploitation stories), it can still take all that is familiar and make something totally new and original with it. Much has been written on how great Nawaz is in this film – but that is boring. Let's talk about the other actors. Anil George, for me, was far far better than Nawaz. Playing the heavy, brooding older brother Vicky Duggal, George has screen presence like few actors on Indian screens. He's phenomenally real. Often he doesn't even seem aware of the camera. Next level performance, in my humble opinion. Niharika Singh as Pinky is just terrific as well. A beautifully understated almost non-performance (which, as anyone knows, is still a PERFORMANCE). A distinctive quality of this beautiful, doll-like actress is that no matter how expressive she is, there always seems to be something else going on which we sense but can't know about. The soundtrack and sound design is just terrific – I'm not sure who has scored the film but it creates a dread and tension which has you scouring the corners of the frame for the source of the menace. All in all, not for everyone – but for those who want something new, this is deeply satisfying.

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.

Bollywood movies are generally based on fantasy and imagination. Where the audience is made familiar with the characters which he 'wishes' to be.

Miss Lovely Adopts a different Approach.It makes the Audience identify with reality and makes familiar with the characters that 'are' around him.

The movie has penetrating dialogues, harsh naked truth characters and language. Nawaz with the character 'Sonu' was awesome.

The movie was brilliant in first half. One needs to watch the movie carefully.

my friend saw this film at the UK and he was left speechless - this is a really hard-hitting, pulpy, gritty and rather radical take on the underground sleaze film industry in India in the 1980s.and now i m also seen trailer and i m sure movie was fantastic...

Clearly more than tell a straight story, director Ashim Ahluwalia is devoted to questioning, analyzing, critiquing and (at times) upsetting social & filmy conventions here.

Working outside of the 'Bollywood' industry, Ahluwalia explores a number of ideas rarely seen in Indian cinema: social outcasts as (tragically heroic) protagonists, uninhibited sexuality, changing roles of women in society and the critique of (or deconstruction of) social structures and assumptions. Sonu & Vicky Duggal clearly represent a new form of rebellion (they are clearly anti-state, anti-film industry, "criminal filmmakers" if you will), and therefore give domestic and international audiences a glimpse into lives that would otherwise likely escape cinematic exploration.

Nawaz , Niharika and Anil Geaorge have done outstanding Acting in this Movie. The Dialogue delivery is wonderful by all mean.

It's true to say that Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely is kind of a desi Boogie NIghts that shows you the true horrors of the dark underbelly of making C-grade adult movies that have only one aim to titillate the audience and make money.

This is a Different Film On Different Subject. The Subject of Life Of C Grade Heroines always ignored bcoz of different Film . The Miss Lovely has succeed to earn so many awards including Cannes.

This is film is a treat for those who enjoy slow pace confused/unclear narrative with aesthetically pleasing cinematography.

I've watched a movie after many times. And it's really an awesome movie. What makes Miss Lovely unique is the original and raw approach of the director. The narrative is really dark and thhypnotical vibe of the film just sucks you in. Pathbreaking filmmaking ^ lovely cinematography.

Here's a 'Bollywood' movie that breaks almost every possible trope that Hindi movies have and that too with what style and pizazz! Alas, it does so without paying much attention its script and therein lies the movie's weakness.

The movie itself is an exploration of the shady underbelly of the Mumbai film industry by focusing on the tribulations of two brothers who are trying to make it 'big' but at the risk of losing everything they hold dear. At the same time, we as audience are given a glimpse into just how dirty, sleazy, crass, amoral and downright abhorrent the world of unorganized Bombay film industry is. What makes the movie so compelling is that it does this with great visual style that holds the viewer attention. So even when I was disgusted with what I was seeing, I was completely enrapt.

At least for the first 30 minutes of the movie. Sadly, the plot and the script is loose, the dialogue is shoddy and the overall plot is meandering with multiple plot lines crisscrossing each other with not much attention paid to a single one. As a result, the movie as a story feels unsatisfactory. However, as a portrait into the B/C grade movie industry, it was fascinating.

I have no idea of what's happening in Bollywood in 2018, but I do know the more things change, they remain the same. In that sense, this movie may as well be a description of what's happening even today - I wouldn't be suprised to learn that some flat in Byculla or Santacruz is being used right now as an impromptu studio for a shooting blue film with some hapless young girl lying naked, being exploited, dreaming of making it 'big' with strips of cocaine on the coffee table.

PS: In a away, the lack of loose plot makes sense. IMDB's trivia page reveals that the movie was supposed to be a documentary but the makers felt they were getting too close to the industry which still has criminal elements associated with it. Risking for their lives, the movie makers decided to fictionalize the characters and make a movie instead.

It's so good to share with you that I happened to watch this film recently and I was blown away by the stunning performances. Truly amazing and 'never seen before' original film.

Elliptical, authentic, and with a strong palate of visual flair, Miss Lovely can be a confusing concoction at times, but it is never boring

I want to share with you that this movie is directed with an unsparing eye, without a hint of exploitation. The best part is that it makes no excuses for any of its characters so we get to see the real ones on the screen.