The Bollywood Elephant

Hey Readers, Happy New Year! Thank you for your support and the love as in a few days time the Blog turns 3 years old! And before we reach there, I would like to conclude with this decade's best list!                                          Before we rank these movies, here are some honourable mentions: Hum  Chaar:  This bitter-sweet tale about friendships and infatuation was adorable, to say the least! All this in a Rajshri style!                                                     De De Pyaar De:  This one was a fun watch with a message at the end! Not to forget the beautiful Tabu!                                                    Laal Kaptaan:  This was a slow burner which was coupled with some brilliant acting and beautiful cinematography!                                                       Batla House :   This JA starrer was inspired from real events had actually dealt with subtlety on the encounter by the same name!                                            

To begin with, I really had a tough time to gather myself and write a review for this Farhan-Priyanka starrer. Director Shonali Bose presents this real-life story of Aisha Chaudhary with her personal touch ( she has gone through a similar thing with her son) making this movie so balanced, positive, beautiful and deals with the subject that 'death is the ultimate truth' so well that it is hard to encapsulate it in words!                                             What's Good:  Performances:  PC, Zaira, Rohit perform so exponentially well but it is Farhan who makes the maximum impact. The vulnerability, the emotions, the longing couldn't be played any better. The movie is pitch-perfect here. Music: Pritam's music is just like the cherry on the cake. Message:  What it takes about is something very relevant about life. Direction, Writing, Dialogues, Editing:  The excellent voice-overs by Aisha (played by Zaira), bose's sensitive handling of the subject, Juh

This week was a quiet week at the box office considering 2 small budget movies 'Photograph' and 'Milan Talkies'. 'Photograph' is directed by Ritesh Batra (of Lunchbox fame) and stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Rafi and Sanya Malhotra as Miloni/Noorie in the lead roles who are ably supported by Farukh Jaffar as Rafi's grandmother. There was a bit of sceptical as I would have preferred Tigmanshu Dhulia's Milan Talkies to this movie. Here is my take on Ritesh Batra's Photograph.                                                What's Good:   Performances:  With Nawaz in the lead, there is not a single folly in his act as Rafi but it is Sanya Malhotra's Miloni who stays with you long after you leave the theatre. Terrific! An Ode to Mumbai:  Ritesh Batra gives a tribute to Mumbai in a unique way, unlike the way he did in 'The Lunchbox'. Cinematography: One of the best scene in a long time (Tumbbad is an exception). Slow Burner:  Being