Ray Review: Manoj Bajpayee, Kay Kay Menon are eccentric, entertaining and sometimes iffy in this anthology

Movie Name: Ray 

Ray Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao, Raghubir Yadav, Manoj Pahwa; Kay Kay Menon, Rajesh Sharma, Bidita Bag, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kharaj Mukherjee; Ali Afzal, Shweta Basu Prasad, Anindita Ghosh; Harshavardhan Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Radhika Madan

Ray Director: Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukerjee, Vasan Bala

Streaming Platform: Netflix 

Ray Rating: 3 stars 

The weekend is here and so is new content! Four Satyajit Ray short stories have been reimagined and directed by Abhishek Chaubey, Vasan Bala and Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukerjee who have come together to give a modern twist and pay tribute to his age-old stories in their own style. Ray -- an anthology of these four stories spans four different worlds and seamlessly takes you on a joy ride across a span of at least 60 minutes each. The anthology begins with Ali Fazal starrer Forget Me Not which is helmed by Mukerjee. 

Set in modern day Mumbai, Ali plays Ipsit Nair who has successfully climbed the corporate ladder, bagged entrepreneur of the year award and is often referred to someone who has a "memory of a computer". With a perfect family life, things begin to fall apart when an old flame bumps into him and he goes spiraling down too fast. While Ali stands out in his act with a tight grip over his impressive accent, the supporting cast too does an outstanding job. The "epsiodes" of this anthology are films itself and Forget Me Not proves to be a good start with a heady mix of drama and revenge. 

Next up in the series is Kay Kay Menon starrer Bahrupriya also helmed by Mukerjee. This eccentric anthology set in Kolkata brings together the fascinating world of makeup and prosthetics and combines it with an unassuming psychopath played by Kay Kay Menon. Though vague at first, Bahrupriya quickly manages to find its rhythm and as usual Kay Kay Menon stands out in his act. Mukerjee uses Kolkata as a character in itself as the film gives glimpses of the city's rains, theatre and it's people. As the second film in the anthology, Bahrupriya will definitely push you to watch the next two. 

After these two dramatic and rather intense shorts, Abhishek Chaubey's delightful film Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa comes as the perfect breather. Starring Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao, this entertaining short film tracks the journey of a famous Urdu poet and wrestler who meet on a train journey. Fun, playful and entertaining is how one would describe this film as it features the duo in a compact train compartment but does not lose its charm with silly banter. While Manoj and Gajraj are both outstanding actors and live up to it, the film's dialogues are definitely a breath of fresh air. 

If we had to pick one film of the four that did not really hit the mark and was a bit iffy it is Vasan Bala's Spotlight. Starring Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Radhika Madan, this short revolves around a superstar trying to turn the spotlight back on him. While a self-proclaimed goddess (Radhika Madan) plays spoilsport, you may find yourself trying to make sense of what's really going on and why. While there are a few laughs here and there, the film also includes filmy cliche dialogues and rightfully so. Given Bala's Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, few scenes in Spotlight do not come as a surprise. While Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor does not wow, Chandan Roy Sanyal as his manager definitely stands out. Spotlight, however, will be a delight if you are a true move buff and can spot all the Scorsese and De Niro references. 

Ray is an amalgamation of crazy ideas and an unusual life given to the legendary filmmaker's work. It is reimagined for the modern-day audience which may not please die-hard fans of Ray's work. In that case, they must stay away. However, if you're not, then binge away.

ALSO READ: Ray: Harshvarrdhan Kapoor calls Spotlight a ‘trippy strange and beautiful ride’; Check out the BTS PICS