CINEMA MARTE DUM TAK Review : “A passionate ode to the 90’s pulpy sleaze and spook fest”

Eminently reminding of Ashim Ahluwali’s Miss Lovely which released a decade back and had Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing one of the brother duo who make sleazy horror fest, Cinema Marte Dum Tak offers a passionate ode to this genre of cinema that infested the audience mind back in the 90s.

 

A buxom babe running in the beach with skimpy outfits, a sultry siren enjoying a frothy bath in the jacuzzi until a monster attacks her and ravages her bare back, deadly lightening, thunder and rain in the background – the montages play relentlessly on the screen and simultaneously freshen our memories.

 

After three decades, four stalwarts of the 90s - J Neelam, Vinod Talwar, Dilip Gulati and Kishan Shah don the director’s hat again to relive the magic and fandom of the pulp movies. A Vice Studios Production and created by maverick filmmaker Vasan Bala, the unscripted Amazon Original series premieres inIndia and across 240 countries and territories worldwide starting January 20.

 

With extreme fondness, it takes viewers back to the 90s, giving them a never-seen-before glimpse into the fascinating, flourishing and undocumented world of Hindi pulp movies, which boasted of a loyal and strong fan-following across the country. A Vice Studios Production and created by maverick filmmaker, Vasan Bala( Mard ko Dard nahin hota, Monica!Oh my Darling) the six-episode reality docu-series is a first-ever peek into the dazzling and independent ecosystem of the 90s Pulp Cinema industry.

 

Cinema Marte Dum Tak takes audiences behind the scenes with four exceptionally passionate directors of that era - J Neelam, Vinod Talwar, Dilip Gulati and Kishan Shah – as they come back for their swan songs, to make a film using the similar budgets and themes from 30 years ago. The docu-series also features testimonials from actors like Raza Murad, Kiran Kumar, Mukesh Rishi, Harish Patel, and Rakhi Sawant amongst others reminiscing the bygone era and sharing insights on this lesser-known chapter of the Indian cinema. Actor Arjun Kapoor also make an appearance as a host in the final episode.

 

Over the years, movies of the pulp genre have almost become a cult phenomenon for the uniqueness, vibrancy and quirkiness that they are imbued with. Soaked with sleazy and spooky stuff, this cinema is much followed even by the netizens on today as you can witness plethora of discussion threads on eminent social media platforms. The creators, artists, and technicians who contributed to this filmmaking industry had limited resources but were driven by their ambition, vision and an insatiable enthusiasm to make movies. The 6-episode unscripted docu-series celebrates the passion and perseverance that was inherent in all those who belonged to the pulp cinema industry. Vasan Bala and Vice Studios have created this intriguing and emotionally engaging docu-series that certainly resonates with audiences across the world by offering us an opportunity to understand the psyche of those enthusiastic film-makers.

 

It candidly brings the stories of J Neelam, Vinod Talwar, Dilip Gulati and Kishan Shah and tell their journeys- the glory and aftermath with truth and dignity.Vasan also commented in one of his interviews that it was great to collaborate with young and extremely talented minds like Disha (Randani), Xulfee and Kulish (Kant Thakur) to direct the episodes.