Start, Action, Cut - 1000 Babies: Novelty of theme outpaces mediocre treatment (2024)

[00:00:11] Hello and welcome to Onmanorama Movie Podcast Start, Action, Cut. Today we are decoding the web series 1000 Babies directed by Najeeem Koya. It's written by Najeeem Koya and Aroz Ilfan. The cinematography is by Faiz Siddiquh, Meena Gupta, Sanju Shivram, Rahman are among the lead actors in the series. And Swadi is here to discuss the web series.

[00:00:36] And as for the plot, the story revolves around a nurse and a mysterious past, which is mired in precious acts leading to nerve-wracking controversies years later.

[00:00:49] It's a nice plot line when we watch the whole thing. But one thing I'm so sure about the series is that it will keep you glued to the narrative throughout.

[00:01:02] But how was the plot line? Did you enjoy it? How was it, Swati?

[00:01:07] Well, Patma Kumar, when I saw the trailer, I thought this is going to be something of a...

[00:01:12] It is a psychological thriller to an extent, but I feel like it kept to that genre just in the first episode.

[00:01:19] And from the second episode, the series sort of takes off into this crime genre.

[00:01:24] And I think that was a bit disappointing for me because I thought while I was watching the first episode, I thought there is potential in this series.

[00:01:32] I mean, it's not a bad series. It is definitely a watchable series.

[00:01:35] But for a crime series or a psychological series for that matter, I don't think the movie had enough content to actually hold your attention till the very end.

[00:01:45] You'll keep watching it because it belongs to that genre.

[00:01:47] But other than that, if you ask me, was there something so compelling or so intriguing in it?

[00:01:53] I would have to say no, because, you know, like I said, in the first episode, it feels like it is going in a different path.

[00:01:59] And, you know, they're talking about things that would create a problem.

[00:02:05] In fact, a ruckus in the entire state and things like that.

[00:02:08] But from the second episode, it sorts of change from that narrative and the trajectory also changes.

[00:02:13] But still, you will keep watching it. I mean, it has some sort of interesting factor, I feel.

[00:02:20] But other than that, for me, it was like a mediocre watch, I must say.

[00:02:24] It had nothing so intriguing in it, I would say.

[00:02:27] Yes. The web series starts with an episode which is titled Prequel.

[00:02:32] And the prequel, as you said, gives enough excitement of a crime thriller.

[00:02:38] And it's sort of a mixture of crime, suspense, the eerie and everything is there.

[00:02:45] You kind of sit for a horror film and with all the music and the magical aspects and the mystic aspects that you see there.

[00:02:55] But as you said, when you go to the second episode, there is a sea change in the treatment.

[00:03:00] You see, it's totally a crime and investigation sort of narrative.

[00:03:07] So even then, you watch the whole thing just because it gives out certain elements that conjures up that mystic element, that mystery.

[00:03:18] You wait for unravelling the mystery. So there is a lot of things.

[00:03:22] So that area, they have plotted well.

[00:03:25] And it moves on a nonlinear pattern that the narrative moves back and forth, keeping the momentum and mystery intact.

[00:03:33] And with the BGM, the BGM, I think played a big role in this series.

[00:03:40] But it was so unfortunate that the way you sit to watch the beginning, sit to watch the prequel,

[00:03:48] you are quite disappointed to see that that ambience is lacking from the second episode onwards, which is titled as a sequel.

[00:03:57] I think, Patmohumar, it's the fact that you keep guessing, you keep thinking that there must be something more to this.

[00:04:03] And the big mystery and everything that was talked about in the first episode, that might have something more to it.

[00:04:09] So you will actually want to watch until the very end to actually see if there's something, something is going to happen.

[00:04:15] But that, even though nothing much or something, nothing great happens,

[00:04:19] I think that mystery factor that was in the first episode keeps you hooked until the very end.

[00:04:25] But I don't know why there has been a hype, I think.

[00:04:29] So many people talk about this.

[00:04:31] So I was very watching it with a great anticipation, with a great expectation.

[00:04:37] And then I see this, but this is a mediocre, as you said, just a mediocre sort of a thing.

[00:04:42] And even the performance of actors, except for Sanju Shivram, who played the character of Bibin.

[00:04:50] Nobody really gives you any high because this character, Bibin's character, he is quite different from the rest of them.

[00:05:02] The way he talks, the way he behaves, everything is quite natural.

[00:05:06] What do you say? Don't you think so?

[00:05:08] Is there any other character who...

[00:05:10] I mean, yeah, there was a sort of familiarity to Bibin's character, I feel.

[00:05:13] I mean, he is seen in different avatars towards the end.

[00:05:17] And I feel in all that avatars, he seems pretty convincing.

[00:05:22] In different avatars means he is quite natural. That's what I feel.

[00:05:26] Yeah, he is very natural.

[00:05:27] Yeah.

[00:05:28] But in comparison to that, if you look at Rahman's character or even the other police inspectors,

[00:05:33] there is some sort of artificiality in their performance, I feel.

[00:05:36] I mean, Rahman did... I think his performance was good.

[00:05:39] But somewhere the dialogue delivery was quite stiff, I feel.

[00:05:43] I mean, there are uses like Eda in between the dialogues, but even that feels a bit forced.

[00:05:51] Maybe that was what was not working out.

[00:05:53] But even then, I would say Rahman did play a police officer.

[00:05:56] Maybe he would have played a police officer not from Kerala.

[00:06:00] That would have been more convincing.

[00:06:02] And as the Malayali police officer, I don't think the dialogue delivered it worked out in his advantage.

[00:06:08] I mean, yeah.

[00:06:09] And also their performances were not that compelling.

[00:06:12] Even Rahman, he did a meticulous job.

[00:06:14] He did the role the way written there.

[00:06:17] But it's not that much interesting.

[00:06:20] You see, he was actually speaking a language so bookish, so written in a book,

[00:06:27] not a colloquial pattern or dialect.

[00:06:31] So that's also a bit off-putting.

[00:06:37] And regarding the...

[00:06:38] I mean, even the scenes, they are not well edited, I feel,

[00:06:42] because you just jump to the next scene without any proper definition or a culmination of the previous scene.

[00:06:50] So this is where the scenes jump one after the other.

[00:06:54] So that also was a bit...

[00:06:57] I mean, didn't quite give you the aesthetic satisfaction of the series.

[00:07:03] I think, Patmohar, I read somewhere in one of the reviews when I was searching for it that...

[00:07:09] I think the headline was like an engaging serial killer that...

[00:07:14] Rahman's flawed Malayalam.

[00:07:16] I think the only...

[00:07:17] From that headline, the only thing I actually captured was Rahman's flawed Malayalam.

[00:07:22] I think for us to connect with the characters, their dialogue delivery should be precise.

[00:07:29] But here, it felt somewhat odd.

[00:07:32] He was speaking in Canada.

[00:07:33] He's actually using English.

[00:07:35] But when it comes to his Malayalam, I think that sort of gave away the whole authenticity of the performance, like I mentioned before.

[00:07:42] But...

[00:07:42] And also one thing I noticed about this story is that even when unraveling the mysteries behind what is happening,

[00:07:48] it is not that interesting or it is not that intriguing.

[00:07:51] I mean, when they add explanations to why things are happening the way they are,

[00:07:56] it doesn't seem really convincing or interesting enough for us to be like, oh, okay, so this is why that happened and things like that.

[00:08:03] But even then I kept thinking, okay, somewhere they're going to add something new, but that rarely happens.

[00:08:09] And it's like, it's partially intriguing and the other half is completely out of focus and it's like you said, it lacks finish is what I felt.

[00:08:17] But Ashwin K. Kumar, who played the character of Sanjeev Krishna, he did actually convince as the character in the series.

[00:08:24] But even his dialogue delaware was kind of off, right?

[00:08:27] Yeah, yes.

[00:08:28] I mean, I don't know if he dubbed the role himself, I don't know, but somewhere it felt a bit off.

[00:08:34] Then Nina Gupta asked Sara Osef.

[00:08:38] I think the older Sara was only a few places she faltered, I think, but the rest of it, it was okay.

[00:08:45] Which one did you like more, the young Sara Osef or the older version?

[00:08:50] I think there is a very stark difference between how the young Sara was and how the older Sara is.

[00:08:57] I think I get it that when you are older and this sense of guilt sort of takes over you and she might have gone to this whole hallucinating mode.

[00:09:07] But then the young Sara is shown as this very menacing, this cunning and very evil woman who has this very evil look on her face constantly.

[00:09:15] She is not compassionate.

[00:09:17] She doesn't feel for others and some kind of an explanation is given to that.

[00:09:21] But that is the character.

[00:09:22] But when you look at the older Sara, she is more empathetic.

[00:09:27] She is more, I think she has this lighter side to her and she even confesses whatever she did to Biven.

[00:09:35] But when she was confessing, she was actually, it was like she was actually sad.

[00:09:39] But the moment the confession is over, she starts laughing and doing all sorts of weird stuff.

[00:09:44] But I think that was pretty odd for me because I was like, OK, what is happening?

[00:09:48] Because we don't really get to see the transition between how the old Sara was and to the new Sara, the older Sara that we see in the beginning.

[00:09:59] I feel like that must have, they should have added more scenes to add context to it.

[00:10:05] And yeah, in that sense, I don't know who to go with.

[00:10:08] But I'd rather stick with the older Sara because she has this very, she has this conviction inside her that something bad needs to be done.

[00:10:15] I don't side with her cause she is absolutely evil.

[00:10:18] But the older Sara, you'd actually feel like, OK, she actually evil.

[00:10:22] Was she really sad?

[00:10:23] What is happening?

[00:10:24] That sort of confusion is there.

[00:10:25] But Neena Gupta's performance, I think she did the character really well.

[00:10:30] But yeah, I'll stick to the younger Sara.

[00:10:32] OK, then do you know that I feel that the main thread of the of the web series that that is the main crime around which the narrative is revolving.

[00:10:43] That is the main focus.

[00:10:45] I mean, that's what gives you the thrill, the mystery, the interest, the curiosity.

[00:10:50] Otherwise, I think the rest of all the elements that are added to it, I think they I mean regarding the performance or the supports or the other factors that is running around it is not that much intriguing or interesting.

[00:11:04] And for that matter, what I feel is I was just imagining if a person who is under such circumstances, will it happen?

[00:11:13] Will it be the same reaction?

[00:11:14] Is it is it possibly is there any need to be so worried or so going go so crazy about knowing the truth?

[00:11:22] Will that be the reaction or is it so is it such a big thing?

[00:11:25] Maybe this is a threat of the narrative gives some freshness, but that's why we the whole story from the beginning till end.

[00:11:34] But reality is it possibly will somebody be reacting in that manner?

[00:11:38] Is there any need to be such worried about that condition, that situation?

[00:11:42] What do you say?

[00:11:43] I had this question as to, okay, when the mystery unveils or when we get to know the motive of the serial killer, I was thinking actually, would this person actually go into this path and was what was so I mean, whatever that has happened, that happened to him was extremely horrible, it should not have happened.

[00:12:02] But what sort of compelled him to go into this whole serial killer mode?

[00:12:06] I mean, that we never get we get to understand.

[00:12:09] I mean, he is shown as this very calm and kind hearted person.

[00:12:13] And then he gets hit by this whole barrage of truth by his mother.

[00:12:18] But what sort of changed after that?

[00:12:20] Why did he go do all these things?

[00:12:22] I mean, that lacked clarity.

[00:12:24] Don't you feel like that?

[00:12:26] Yes, yes, that's what I said, because a person who there is no nothing changes in his life.

[00:12:31] So, if I go further about what the condition or the situation is, that will be a spoiler.

[00:12:37] So, I won't go into that.

[00:12:38] But I would like to say that the condition he is in, the revelation that he exposed to, I don't think that is going to make any life-changing situation in him.

[00:12:50] So, what is the point in going that wild and that mindset?

[00:12:54] That's what my question was.

[00:12:56] We have shown what happened to him during that one year time gap where after his mother passes away.

[00:13:02] But that, they don't really show us.

[00:13:04] So, then we don't get to understand why this happens and why he goes into this whole confused serial killer mode.

[00:13:11] Yes, that's what I do feel.

[00:13:13] But since this kind of storyline is not very common, that might be the reason why people watch it with a great interest and they are talking about it.

[00:13:24] And cinematography was good to a great extent.

[00:13:28] But I feel that the visuals were portrayed in a very dark backdrop.

[00:13:33] Many of the things were not very clear when you watch it.

[00:13:36] I had to increase the brightness of the screen on several occasions.

[00:13:42] How was it for you?

[00:13:43] How was it the viewing experience for you?

[00:13:46] Well, Patbukmar, I felt like there was this dark tinge to the narrative only in the first episode.

[00:13:51] And it almost feels like the first episode is a different story and from the second episode, it is a different story.

[00:13:56] Because from the second episode, it's more bright.

[00:13:59] It's more of a police ambience and things like that.

[00:14:02] But in the first episode, there is more of a little bit of supernatural elements even in it.

[00:14:06] Because she hallucinates and the whole house, it's kind of dark and the whole setting is more...

[00:14:12] It gives out a claustrophobic feeling and all that.

[00:14:15] But from the second episode, it's nothing like that at all.

[00:14:18] So I think for me, it was like the first episode was one thing and from the second episode, it was like a different viewing experience.

[00:14:25] And also, I feel that the character of Ansi that you watched from the second episode onwards, and that subplot was, I think, that was dealt with a bit longer time.

[00:14:38] And even the clash between the conflict between those characters, that also looked a bit artificial and very, very weak.

[00:14:46] And after a certain point, you feel that that episode was being dealt with with a duration that was too long for the web series.

[00:14:54] What's your take?

[00:14:55] I completely agree, Patmohumar, because it was going...

[00:14:57] Anyway, the plot point was going a different way.

[00:15:00] So I felt like they wasted a little bit extra time on that whole story because we already get it.

[00:15:05] Why that person was murdered and the whole dynamic between the husband and wife.

[00:15:10] However, the mystery and the suspense keep us hooked throughout the episodes.

[00:15:15] So that brings us to the end of this episode.

[00:15:18] Thanks for listening to Start Action Cut produced and hosted by me, Patmohumar.

[00:15:22] Follow www.onmanorama.com for more podcasts on movies.

[00:15:26] And be sure to come back for the next episode of Start Action Cut out on Mondays.

[00:15:31] Thank you.

[00:15:31] Thank you.