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What Are the Odds

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What Are the Odds
Film poster
Directed byMegha Ramaswamy
Written byMegha Ramaswamy
Shreya Vaidya
Produced byAbhay Deol
Apoorva Bakshi
Pooja Kohli
Sanjay Bachani
Starring
CinematographyJohan Heurlin Aidt
Edited byArindam Ghatak
Music bySagar Desai
Production
company
FilmKaravan
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • 14 April 2019 (2019-04-14) (Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles)
  • 20 May 2020 (2020-05-20)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryIndia
Languages
  • Hindi
  • English

What Are the Odds is a 2019 Indian Hinglish drama film directed by Megha Ramaswamy.[1] Starring Abhay Deol, Yashaswini Dayama and Karanvir Malhotra, the film tells the story of two unintentional teenage friends who end-up spending an entire day together.[2]

The film premiered at the closing night gala for the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in 2019, and was released on Netflix on 20 May 2020.[3][4]

Cast

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Release and reception

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Initially titled The Odds, the film met with favourable reviews following its world premiere at IFFLA 2019's closing gala - being called "a kind of story about growing up in India today unlike anything seen before."[5] The film went on to show in the Global Village selection for Shanghai International Film Festival and the Taipei Film Festival.[6][7] Film reviewer Hong Wen compared the symmetrical image structure coupled with the sweet and quirky style to be a cross be reminiscent of "Wes Anderson walks into Emily's Whimsical World", lauding the independent, rebellious spirit of the film.[8] In an interview with the Hindu, Ramaswamy revealed the film's playful tone was inspired by filmmakers like John Hughes and Sai Paranjpye, expressing that she wanted to showcase a more grounded representation of Indian millennials through the film.[9]

The film launched to mostly positive reviews on Netflix,[10] trending #2 on the top movies in India on Netflix at the time of release and being featured in GQ's "top-content-to-watch" list.[11][12] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote: "What Are the Odds? doesn't tick boxes.[citation needed] It reinvents them. In the process, it trades superficial dazzle for a deep, lasting enchantment."[13] Ashameera Aiyappan of The New Indian Express called it a "charming new age fairy tale", lauding the film's use of an outlandish screenplay, staging and narration to present a package that is colourful, vibrant and innocent.[14] The film has been praised for its performances, cinematography, music and eccentric visual style.[citation needed]

However, a few have criticized the film for preferring flash over substance. Pankhuri Shukla of The Quint felt that the film "has the ambitious drive of a cute slice-of-life YA film that is also visually fascinating, but barely dips its toes in the genre."[15] Rahul Desai of Film Companion called the film a "pretty but pointless flight of fancy" comparing it to an over-playful bundle of puppy energy – chasing its own tail, and eventually accomplishing nothing while wanting to be a bit of everything.[16] On this note, Devansh Sharma of Firstpost pondered if the "lack of coherency" was an intentional aspect of the film's eccentric narrative vocabulary, eventually dismissing the notion because its "narrative tilts towards logic whenever it is convenient, and distances itself from insanity whenever it pleases."[17]

References

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  1. ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (20 May 2020). "In Netflix film 'What Are the Odds?', love, hope, music and the magic of the wonder years". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ^ "What Are The Odds trailer: Abhay Deol, Yashaswini Dayama's whimsical love story arrives on Netflix in two days". Hindustan Times. 18 May 2020. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Abhay Deol's coming-of-age show, The Odds, to close Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2019". Firstpost. 16 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Watch the Trailer for What Are the Odds?, Out This Week on Netflix". NDTV Gadgets 360. 18 May 2020. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. ^ "THE ODDS | IFFLA". Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ^ "2019年第22届上海国际电影节排片表". www.siff.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ IIF (14 June 2019). "Megha Ramaswamy on being "the odd" one in". India Independent Films. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. ^ ETtoday新聞雲 (26 May 2019). "《地下狂熱趴》爛番茄96％高分！外媒：繼承《猜火車》靈魂 | ETtoday星光雲". star.ettoday.net (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. ^ Venkatesa, Nikhil (22 March 2019). "Megha Ramaswamy's coming-of-age series, 'The Odds', to premiere in LA". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ^ Tripathi, Sumedha (21 May 2020). "13 Tweets To Read Before Watching 'What Are The Odds' On Netflix". www.scoopwhoop.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Megha Ramaswamy wants to infuse colours in young people's lives with her movies". www.indulgexpress.com. 28 May 2020. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ "7 best shows and movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ to watch this weekend". GQ India. 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  13. ^ "What Are The Odds? Review: Netflix Film Doesn't Tick Boxes, It Reinvents Them". NDTV. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. ^ "'What Are The Odds' movie review: A charming new-age fairy tale". The New Indian Express. 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Did 'What Are the Odds?' on Netflix Really Need Abhay Deol?". The Quint. 21 May 2020. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  16. ^ Desai, Rahul (20 May 2020). "What Are The Odds Review: A Pretty But Pointless Flight Of Whimsy". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  17. ^ "What Are The Odds? movie review: This ambitious film on Netflix is a delirious pleasure, till the madness withers out". Firstpost. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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