Baaghi 2 Review: Rebel against this movie! A Highly Painful experience!

Bollywood loves churning out sequels every now and then. The so-called "sequels" degrade the content of the original. 'Baaghi 2' is the sequel to 2016's surprising hit 'Baaghi'.  And Baaghi 2 reaffirms my faith that Bollywood cannot come up with good sequels.

                                                  

The acting in the movie is downright atrocious. Tiger Shroff as Ranveer and a perfect typecast of an action hero. Disha Patani as Neha is the next Katrina Kaif. She tries a lot to act but fails at a lot of levels. Darshan Kumar, Prateik Babbar, Manoj Bajpayee, Deepak DDobriyal are entirely wasted. It is perhaps Randeep Hooda as LSD is the best and also gets the best lines of the movie.

                                               

The story which has been borrowed from the south-Indian movie 'Shanam'  is somewhat interesting. But the terrible execution, terrible direction led the movie to be very confusing. It seemed as if 2 parallel stories were running which intertwined after 3/4 of the movie was done. It was painful to watch anything and everything happening in the movie. The actions sequences were impressive and the music was average(compared to the movie). The pace of the movie was so painful that it started to give me a headache.

                                                   

Overall, there was no need for a Baaghi 2 and was a painful and regressive watch. The movie just had impressive action and average music going for it! I am rating this movie 1.5 stars. Strictly avoid. Watch 'Raid' or 'Sonu ki Titu ki Sweety' instead of this! The collection of this movie will be outstanding as the Indian audience ENJOYS such brainless masala watch(even the masala here is too much). Avoid.

                                                    

P.S. I'm being very lenient giving it 1.5 stars.

                                                     

Hichki Review: "Jaa Jaa Jaa" to a cinema near you!

Finally, Rani Mukherjee is back after a long break with YRF's 'Hichki'. The movie picks up the topic of Tourette Syndrome and explores the teacher-student relationship based on this rare disease. The movie has borrowed its basic premise from the book 'Front of the class'.

                           

Rani Mukherjee is back and with a bang! Her portrayal of a Ms.Naina Mathur, a Tourette syndrome victim is exemplary! Shivkumar Subramanium, Rohit Saraf, Supriya and Sachin Pilagaonkar, Neeraj Kabi are an excellent support to the supremely talented Rani. The junior artists portraying the students were amazing. 

                                         

Director Siddharth.P.Malhotra does a great job in the directing the movie. 'Hichki' suffers some hiccups majorly because of the predictable writing and the lack of character depth. Though the director keeps you engrossed in the movie with subtle dialogues, absolute school nostalgia, he fails to give us any insight into something the audience could have developed a connect with- the students of 9-F (the class Naina Mathur teaches). Shallow characterisation and a predictable story are the only hiccups. The music by Jasleen Royal and Tanishq Bagchi is amazing to hear. The editing, the dialogues, the locations are done well.

                                           

'Hichki' could've been this year's "Kapoor and Sons" but the lack of proper characterization and a somewhat predictable story proved to be a roadblock. I am going with 3.5 stars! Watch it for some class acting and finally Bollywood's fine treatment of portraying a medical condition. The business of this movie should be around 30-35 crores (in the same range of Rani's last movie Mardaani{36.78 cr}) due to the niche appeal.

                                           

Raid Review: A 'Raid' you won't mind being a part of!

Raid is the biggest release of March. It stars Saurabh Shukla, Ajay Devgn and Illeana d'Cruz. Raid arrived without a lot of promotions and is perhaps the only notable watch after the blockbuster, Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety and the dud Pari. Let's see whether it is better to rewatch SKTKS or watch Raid.

                

Ajay Devgn helms the star cast as Amay Patnaik. Though there are instances where he seems to be the Bajirao Singham's cousin from the IT department but gives a solid performance. Someone who topples Ajay is Saurabh Shukla as Rameshwar Singh 'Tauji' is beyond words to express.He is a literal show stealer. His Rameshwar's and Amay's cat and mouse game are enjoyable to watch. Illeana D'Cruz is merely reduced to a pretty damsel and has no special role. The rest of the cast do a good job in their respective role. 

                                      

Raj Kumar Gupta's narration is spot on. He tactfully engages you in the 130-minute runtime through the witty dialogues, narration and the pace. The writing by Ritesh Shah has been inspired by true incidences but has plot holes because the first half seems dragged and the songs in the movie are thrown for the sake of it. The music either is not good.  Though the editing and the cinematography nicely capture the locales of UP.

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Overall an average trailer, below average music and no initial expectations did impress me with the good treatment of the story and an interesting and intriguing watch. I rate the movie 3 stars. It can be your watch for the weekend if you are looking for something different.  The movie does try to rouse the patriot in you but fails! The lifetime of this movie should be between 65-75 crore lifetime.

                                      

P.S.  If you have still not watched SKTKS I would suggest watching it! 

Pari Review:This Pari Terrifies and Horrifies!

'Pari' can be a called as a proud attempt at Horror genre in the Indian cinema.The movie has no skin show neither a cringe-worthy script, two of the most essential elements of an Indian horror movie. Pari is the third movie in Anushka Sharma's production after NH10 and Phillauri.

                             

It really takes a lot of effort and daring for an A-lister actor to shed her glamorous avatar and don a role like Ruksana. Anushka as Ruksana is an example of an excellent actor and it would not be wrong to say that she has delivered her career-best performance as well as 2018's best performance. Parambrata Chatterjee as Arnob is amazing and his unusual chemistry with Anushka is praiseworthy. Perhaps, Rajat Kapoor as Professor Omar is terrifying but does not have enough meat for his character. Ritabhari Chakraborty as Piyali is innocent, lovable and has good sequences to deliver.

                                             

Generally, a cringe-worthy script is essential for an Indian horror movie. Pari finally comes out the 'cringe-worthy' script zone and writer-director Prosit Roy writes an intriguing script but due to some sub-plots, the movie becomes a little confusing in-between but starts and ends promisingly. The movie terrifies and scares but the pace becomes a little painful especially because of a 140-minute run-time. Prosit Roy as a director captures Calcutta in a way we have barely seen on-screen, the Calcutta of the rainy season. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful and the movie ca alone be watched for the atmosphere it creates. Surprisingly, the music is really good and the background score. 'Tera Zikr Hai' was found to be on my lips even after I left the cinema.

                                              

Pari is a brilliantly crafted movie with some loopholes in the script and some pacing issues. It is surprisingly a horror story with a message. I rate the movie 2.5 stars! Pari can be your watch! The business of Pari will be average and would be around 25-30 crores as such movies have a niche audience.

                                               

P.S. Pari may not horrify you as much as it did to me because Horror movies are not my cup my of tea so simplest of the horror movies can horrify me!