Stree Review: The 'Stree' of your dream is right here!

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. 

                                                    

Based on the ridiculously true phenomenon of Nale Ba, about a witch who knocks on the door of the houses, the writing of  'Stree' is a real triumph. In spite of having a limited scope in this tale, the ridiculous phenomenon is entertaining told through the dialogues and writing of Raj & DK(of Go Goa Gone fame).  The editing is a little troublesome but does not exactly hamper the viewing for the audiences. The first half an hour takes time to build up but completely redeems itself in the thereafter. The music by Sachin Jigar is spot on and outstanding. A perfect blend of foot-tapping 'Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe' to soothing one in 'Nazar Na Lag Jaye'. There is some amazing work done here.

                                                        

Overall, 'Stree' is the best movie to have released post 'Raazi' (better than 'Sanju') and surely deserves to be on your watchlist for some pure madcap fun and frolic. 'Stree' should also prove to be the game-changer for Shraddha Kapoor and as for Rajkummar Rao, he is the best. I am going with 3.75 stars for 'Stree'. The business of this movie should be around 40-50 crores being a medium budget movie.

                                                     

P.S. This is rightfully the 'Stree' of your dreams!

Mulk Review: Impactful and Thoughtful!

Amidst a plethora of releases this week, 'Mulk, a small budget release of Anubhav Sinha starring Rishi Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu and Ashutosh Rana in the lead roles. The movie deals with some relevant questions about humanity and gets you thinking as you leave the cinema.

          

With powerhouse performers like Rishi Kapoor as Murad Ali Mohammad, Taapsee as Aarti Mohammad, Ashutosh  Rana as Santosh, all of them outperform each other and are absolutely impeccable. They are ably supported by an eccentric Neena Gupta as the matriarch, Prachee Pandya as Choti Tabassum, Manoj Pahwa as Bilal Mohammad, Kumud Mishra as judge and Rajat Kapoor as Danish Javed all of whom do a terrific job. In this ensemble cast, Manoj Pahwa's performance deserves a special mention. He literally outshone everyone.

                                        

The script is the real winner of Mulk. Anubhav Sinha takes a little time to build this story and has some fidgeting camerawork but then the movie recovers itself. The explosive dialogues (delivered by an even better cast)  provoke you and leave an impact. The music is ordinary, the movie (except the opening scenes) is well shot and Banaras is captured well. The editing is slick and the costumes, make up is all well done. Mulk is a technically sound movie. 

                                       

Mulk has an important message which is delivered with a lot of impact due to absolutely perfect storytelling and direction. Rating this movie a perfect 4 stars. It is easily one of the Top 3 movies of the year! Do not miss it.

                                                

                                          

P.S. If you want an absolutely relevant cinema for today's times, go watch Mulk! You will not be disappointed.