Two movies - Gems that must be watched

After a long time watched two movies this weekend that really touched me... 'Peepli Live' and 'Udaan'... neither of the movies are the typical bollywood extravaganzas with big stars or item numbers or foreign locations... but both the movies are made with soul... simple movies that speak volumes...both the movies are totally different so I cant say which one I liked better... loved them both...

Peepli Live is such a beautiful satire... makes us laugh at so many places but along with the laughs we get to really see about the problems faced by the farmers, how the vote-thirsty, publicity-hunting politicians actually work and how the media is now all about TRPs and sensationalizing news and have absolutely no feelings or care for the situation the protagonist is in... The movie is in similar vein to Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron... wherein humor is used to throw light on some real social issues... but then I am too big a fan of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron ever since I remember to actually compare both the movies :)

Udaan was a totally different experience... story of a teenager who finally breaks away from all the shackles and flies away to live the dream he dreams... the kid is part of a dysfunctional family where the fathers way of caring for his kids is to become too controlling, too much of a disciplinarian and at times even abusive... the casting for the movie was perfect... the father was so strict and so dangerously abusive at times, that I could not relate to the father at all and was thanking my stars for the wonderful parents I have... I guess that speaks in itself about how well Ronit Roy played the father's character... Rajat Barmecha, who plays the lead Rohan, is a delight to watch, a complete natural... the dynamics of the father-son relationship is really something... but what really touched me was the change in Rohan towards his younger step-brother Arjun... a step-brother he had no clue even existed while he was away for 8 years in a boarding school... Rohan starts off as a bit of a bully towards Arjun then as the movie proceeds he really comes to care for the little brother... Have to add Ram Kapoor as the uncle was also very good... He really was the perfect Chachu who empathized, loved and cared for the kids.. the movies storyline is simple, uncomplicated but it has been made so beautifully that it keeps us glued onto the screen right till the end... makes us feel like we are part of the journey that Rohan goes through... loved it....