Hindi
‘Ugly’…Horribly so!
MUMBAI: Ugly defies slotting. The closest it comes to in genre is 20th Century Hollywood noir thrillers shot in low lights. While the film adopts this pretentious low light option to look intelligent, its content lacks grossly in thrill of any kind. The film is a saga of double-crossing and backstabbing among friends and family members. But the content in the film has nothing to do with the film’s main story: that of kidnap of a 10 year girl.
Ronit Roy is the top cop married to the girl he loved in college. It was a love triangle, with Ronit, Tejeswini Kolhapure and Rahul Bhatt, now a full time struggler wanting to make it as a star. Rahul seems to have been the lucky one who marries Tejaswini. The couple get one girl child who is usually witness to the violence between Rahul and Tejaswini who are eventually divorced. Ronit, by virtue of being next in line, marries her. But their marriage is cold with Tejaswini having turned an alcoholic.
Saturday is the day for Rahul to meet his daughter, Kali, and as usual he takes her out. Rahul goes up to meet his casting director friend, Vineet Kumar Singh, leaving Kali in the car when Kali goes missing. She has been kidnapped. Initially, the film is all about finding her but soon turns in to blame game and finally into all the characters wanting to exploit the situation to their own advantage.
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Producers: DAR Motion Pictures, Phantom Films. Director: Anurag Kashyap. Cast: Ronit Roy, Rahul Bhatt, Vineet Kumar, Singh, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Surveen Chawla, Siddhanth Kapoor, Girish Kulkarni. |
Since nobody trusts anyone else they all suspect each other of the kidnap and don’t bother to check other possibilities. Ronit, being a cop, uses his office to tail and record the conversations of others including his wife, Tejaswini. He as well as his staff are completely devoted to this task. Rohit and Vineet are put behind bars and tortured in Ronit’s backroom. He has a motive since the court has restricted his visits to Kali to once a week only.
A missing ad is put in the newspapers and Tejaswinis’ crook brother, Siddhanth Kapoor, decides to take advantage. He calls up his sister demanding 50 lakh ransom to return the girl and Tejaswini asks her father, the only moneybag around, for 65 lakh, keeping her share in the ransom! Tejaswini gives her 15 lakh to her friend, Surveen Chawla, who happens to be Rahul’s current girlfriend. Surveen, an ex-item girl is married to a filmmaker who is useless in bed.
Surveen thinks she can use the 15 lakh left with her and she absconds with Rahul and Vineet. The latter is killed by Rahul in a frenzy, and Tejaswini decides to shoot Ronit even as Kali’s rotting body is lying dumped in a public place, the stink of which nobody smells until police does!
Script, direction as well as other aspects are negative in this senseless film. The characters don’t fit in our kind of films or mind-set. The film has been designed to be gloomy and drab with planned exposure of Mumbai’s poverty ridden locations and garbage so much so even the ACP Ronit’s office is in some dilapidated housing board tenement.
Ugly is a pretentious, bad film.
Hindi
Rajesh Ramaswamy exits The Script Room to focus on filmmaking journey
Ad filmmaker steps away from own venture to pursue direction and storytelling
MUMBAI: In a move that has caught the attention of the advertising and creative community, Rajesh Ramaswamy has announced his exit from The Script Room, the company he co-founded, marking the end of a seven-year stint at the helm.
The decision, which came into effect earlier this month, signals a shift in focus for Ramaswamy, who is now looking to immerse himself fully in filmmaking and direction as an independent creative.
Known for blending sharp advertising insight with storytelling craft, Ramaswamy has been instrumental in shaping The Script Room into a creative hub that delivered campaigns, branded content, and original storytelling formats. Over the years, the company collaborated with agencies, directors, and a wide network of writers, while also experimenting with formats such as short films and web series.
Sharing his thoughts on the transition, Ramaswamy indicated that the move is driven by a desire to focus and explore stories he has been developing over time. While he acknowledged the unconventional nature of stepping away from one’s own venture, he also framed it as a necessary leap toward clarity and creative pursuit.
Importantly, The Script Room will continue its operations with its current team and leadership, with Ramaswamy expressing confidence in the group that helped build the company’s identity. The studio, he noted, remains well-positioned to evolve further with fresh talent and ideas.
His exit also reflects a wider industry trend, where experienced advertising professionals are increasingly transitioning into independent filmmaking, tapping into the growing opportunities across digital and long-form content platforms.
As Ramaswamy steps into this new phase, the move underscores a familiar creative instinct, sometimes, the boldest ideas begin with a clean break.
