The Bollywood Elephant

2018 has been an interesting year for the film industry around the world. With some major banners falling below expectations and small banners springing up surprises. The net revenue of Bollywood has grown from $116.8 billion in 2017 to $132.8 billion in 2018. In a first, there was a failure of domination of the Khans at the box office that was surpassed by Khurana, Rao and Kaushal aka Talents and Story. Like it is, if there are good films, there are bad films.                             Before discussing the good films, here are 5 films that disappointed me the most: 5.) Namaste England: Regressive, Demeaning and Poorly Acted and Directed.                                                             4.) Welcome to New York: Still figuring out what they wanted to deliver.                                                                3.) Race 3: Anything and everything happening.                                                         2.) Thugs of Hindostan: Childi

The much-awaited mammoth '2.0' finally hit the theatres with superstar Rajnikanth reprising his role of the human-robot Chitti and with Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson joining him in this time!                                               Rajnikanth as Vasigaran/Chitti/Chitti 2.0 does full justice to his roles as the human robot. He and his expressions are spot-on!! Akshay Kumar as the antagonist Pakshi  Rajan is menacing but does not have enough meat for his role. Amy Jackson plays the role of the pretty damsel really well as Nila. And it is an out and out Rajni movie.                                                           Shanker delivers us ' Rajni brand of entertainment' after Robot. Though his screenplay, the story is weak but his direction is good and offers a strong message as well. The VFX is top-notch and really makes the movie look an absolute delight. However, the over the top emotional quotient, forced social message do some damage to the second ha

This week is the release of a low-key movie 'Baazaar' starring Saif Ali Khan, late actor Vinod Mehra's son Rohan Mehra, Radhika Apte and Chitrangda Singh in the lead roles and is directed by debutant director Gauravv K Chawla.                                                                                                                             Saif Ali Khan is back and how! He makes a fabulous act as a shrewd business Shakun Kothari and delivers a fabulous performance. Rohan Mehra, who makes his debut is literally outstanding and makes a debut which makes you want to see more of him. He does make his late father Vinod Mehra proud. Radhika Apte as Priya is interesting and pivotal. Chitrangda Singh has a lot of heavy lifting to do in the movie as Mandira and makes a just about effort to portray it.                                      Debutant director keeps the direction absolutely sleek and fabulous. An interesting plot keeps the viewer invested and t

The kind of cinema Ayushmann Khurana is been associated with is rather amazing and surprising. He has been associated with taboo breaking cinema and this week's release 'Badhaai Ho' is no exception. He movie revolves around the central idea of parents in their early 50s, receive the news of the pregnancy.                                         Ayushmann Khurana is on fire and quite literally. If you thought Andhadhun was his career best, be ready to re-think your choice. He just expresses Nakul onto another level. The real boss here is Surekha Sikri who as dadi, gets the best one-liners and is surely one of the most compelling supporting actor one shall see. Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta are fabulous and express their varied expressions with ease and share an adorable chemistry. Shardul Rana, Sheeba Chadha and Sanya Malhotra don't have much to do but are great in whatever little role they have.                                        Debutant Amit R

This week Varun Dhawan's 'Sui Dhaga: Made in India' released along side Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Patakhaa'. So, I decided to review this Sharat Katariya directed affair and it was a totally sound decision.                              Varun Dhawan is exemplary in his role as Mauji. His dialect, appearance and acting are all on point. He brings an unusual charm to Mauji. On the other hand, Anushka as Mamta is totally terrific. Her angst, emotions are all on point. They share a crackling chemistry which lights the screen. Raghubir Yadav as Mauji's father, Yamini Dass as Mauji's mother, Namit Das as Guddu play their role and to perfection. The movie is sound in the acting department.                                                  Writer-Director Sharat Katariya keeps the story simple like his previous movie, 'Dum laga Ke Haisha' and that is where there is disappointment. The story had enormous potential which is left half done due to a

An ace director like  Anurag Kashyap decides to helm the director's hat for something that is out of his comfort zone i.e. Romance and delivers a beautifully created mess called Manmarziyaan. The movie  stars Vicky Kaushal, Taapsee Pannu and  Abhishek Bachchan in the lead roles.                                                    Have you ever thought you'd fall in love with Abhishek Bachchan? Well surprisingly, Abhishek infuses an unusual charm to Robbie and aces his act. But it is the terrific acts of the Vicky Kaushal and Taapsee that really holds the movie together. They bring life to Vicky and Rumi and their chemistry is undeniably crackling. The terrific leads are ably supported by  Vikram Kochchar, Pavan Malhotra, Poonam Shah among others.                                                 Kashyap does an excellent job in bringing to life the complexities of modern day love. The movie does have vibes of Bhansali's classic, 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'

This week Bollywood had 2 major releases: The Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor starrer 'Stree' and the Deols' Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se'.  I decided to watch the former and so here are my thoughts the Dinesh Vijan production, "Stree" starring an unusual pair of Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor.                                                 Leading the show is the ever-reliable Rajkummar Rao as Vicky who effortlessly pulls off the role of 'Manish Malhotra of Chanderi'. His comic timing is spot on and brilliant even better than Bareilly ki Barfi. On the other hand, Shraddha Kapoor surprises with her acting skills in this one as the mystery girl. Her chemistry with Rajkummar Rao is palpable. Adding to the fun are Aparshakti Khurana as Bittu, Abhishek Banerjee as Dana and Pankaj Tripathi as Rudra are once again amazing and brilliant. They just simply add more to this madcap ride.                                                       Bas