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.

                                       \

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!

SKTKS Review: Entertaining and Engaging!

'Sonu Ki Titu Ki Sweety' is this week's release and has 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' cast of Nushrat Bharucha, Kartik Aaryan, Sunny Singh in the leads and revolves around an 'upgraded' idea that marriages in India are not only between 2 families but also best friends.

                               

Kartik Aaryan as the saviour Sonu is the rightful show stealer. His accent, panache and his chemistry with Sunny Singh aka Titu is excellent and better than Titu's with his fiance Sweety played by Nushrat Bharucha. She plays her part well which is more or less an 'upgrade' from the PKP series. The man in question, Sunny Singh aka Titu, gives an honest performance. His performance could've been better. Alok Nath as Ghasite, Virender Saxena as Lalu and Ishita Sharma as Pihu are excellent beyond words. Their comic timings are brilliant and ensure that you run out of breath due to laughter.

                

                                               \\

Scripted and directed by Luv Ranjan, SKTKS is breezy. His writing coupled with dialogues make for an entertaining watch. The only drawback here is that the director runs out of ideas to carry forward the story post interval due to which the plot seems to be repetitive. But the dialogues keep you engaged and entertain you despite a repetitive script. Like a lead character mentions, " Too Good to be True waala scene hai, Kuch Toh Gadbad hai!", this line sums up it all. The music is excellent and 'Chote Chote Peg' and 'Tera Yaar Hoon' are personal favorites.

                                       

With everything said, SKTKS is engaging, sexist yet funny and should be your watch if you looking some fun. The background of a Punjabi wedding only makes the movie more colorful and enjoyable to watch. I rate the movie with 3.5 stars! Go watch it for pure fun.

                                        

Aiyaary Review: This 'Aiyaary' of the makers did not suit audience!

Aiyaary means 'Treachery'. 'A Wednesday' director Neeraj Pandey helms this venture his shapeshifting has cost him a well-intentioned film named  'Aiyaary' and he, Siddharth Malhotra and a sub-plotted story are responsible for it.

                         

                               

How can a director after working with actors like Akshay Kumar, Rana Daggubatti, Taapsee Pannu resolve to work with Siddharth Malhotra as the lead protagonist? He is such an expressionless actor that he fails to justice to Major Jai Bakshi.The only plus point he has is that he looks like a soldier. He also 'Lae Dooba' his chemistry with Rakul Preet aka Sonia, who practically had no role in the movie. It was only Manoj Bajpayee, Kumud Mishra and Naseeruddin Shah out of the ensemble cast who pulled this movie. Seasoned actors like Adil Hussain, Anupam Kher, Pooja Chopra, Vikram Gokhale have merely reduced caricatures and have been wasted.

                                   

It is hard to believe that the same person who directed 'A Wednesday', 'Baby', 'Special 26', has directed this movie. A Very Well Intentioned Story is let down by subplots, certain unnecessary scenes, choppy editing and an overloud background score but manages to deliver its message due to an uplifting second half after a sluggish first half. The movie is unnecessarily long and stretched. The climax is impressive and manages to leave a mark in an otherwise average movie.

                                     

'Aiyaary' is a movie that delivers its message after a bumpy ride of 157 minutes. I am going with 2.5 stars for the movie. Had Neeraj Pandey substituted Siddharth Malhotra, 'Aiyaary' could've been saved from the problem it is!Another 0.5 stars to the movie for its amazing message! 3 stars in total! With God's grace the movie didn't clash with Padman/Padmaavat else it would have been thrashed badly but it won't make much of difference. Lifetime should wrap under 40-45 crores!

                                       

P.S. I've been liberal in rating it 3 stars! But 'Aiyaary' should only be watched for its message!

Padman Review: Ye Superhero Pagla Hai! Period.

Talking about Taboo topics are finally coming in fashion to Bollywood! Padman focuses on the life of a social activist Arunachalam who invented low-cost sanitary napkins for women. The movie does deliver its message but sadly misses the emotional rooting that could have been possible.

                              

As depicted in this poster, Radhika Apte leads the cast as Gayatri, Lakshmi's wife. Her emotions, acting are all on point. Akshay Kumar as Lakshmi is delightful to watch but sometimes misses the skin of his character.  The rest of the cast do an outstanding role in their parts. With such amazing performances, there was Sonam Kapoor's performance as Pari that was pathetic and bashed up the movie in the acting department. Her performance can easily go down as One of the worst performances of the year already. Even her costume, make-up was equally disappointing as her performance.

                                                 

                                            

Director R.Balki does a fine job behind the camera. The movie suffers in the second half due to lazy writing and 'forced' sub-plots ruin it. The dialogues(except a few) are cringeworthy and this 150-minute movie could have been better if there was some tighter editing but DOP stands out. The city of Maheshwar was captured very well and the music by Amit Trivedi was disappointing. Perhaps "Hu Ba Hu" was the only song that I could take back. The technicalities made Padman a flawed film but certainly enjoyable because of its overall feel.

                                         

With everything said and done, Padman is a movie that cannot bring about a change but has the potential to start a conversation about menstrual health. I am rating the movie 3.5 stars perhaps due to the direction, performances, DOP and the subject. An enjoyable affair! Can be your watch this weekend. The collection of this movie will stand about 85-90 crores lifetime. Above Average!

                                        

P.S. The movie inspires you to do something better with your life.

  

Padmaavat Review: Brilliant is an Understatement!

After a delay, Padmaavat finally hit the theatres and it is a typical signature of Sanjay Leela Bhansali! The man creates magic behind the camera. Padmaavat is SLB's  3rd best movie to date behind the Bachchan-Mukherjee starrer 'Black' and 'Bajirao Mastani'. 'Padmaavat' is a story of honour, valour, and obsession.

                

Ranveer Singh is the man of the moment. He displays the vivid layers of Alauddin Khilji to perfection. He is menacing, amusing and cynical and no one apart from him could have played this role. He should be ready for his award speeches now! Shahidas Maharawal Ratan Singh is impressive. He carries the honour, valour required for a Rajput king with perfection but his character lacks depth! 'Padmavati' Deepika essays brilliantly, especially through her eyes. She literally lives the role of 'Padmavati'. Aditi Hydari as Meherunnisa is stunning and Jim Sarbh as Malik Gafur is fun, wicked and amazing to watch. The rest of the cast does an amazing job in their respective roles.

                                         

Sanjay Leela Bhansali behind the camera guarantees some breathtaking, stunning, royal and magnificent visuals.The cinematography is brilliant, the screenplay is taut, the background score and the music by SLB are superb! SLB captures all the actors brilliantly! The war scenes are brilliantly shot and the editing, dialogues, and lyrics are pitch perfect! The movie has been fictionized but only a bit towards the climax to make it look dramatic. The historical facts are somewhat kept intact by the movie. 

                                         

In spite of a running time of 163 minutes, 'Padmaavat' keeps you interested in the 2 parallel stories of Maharawal Ratan Singh-Padmavati and Alauddin Khiljiin the first half and the brilliant interaction of the three leads in the second half! The movie is surely the amazing start to 2018 and it gets 3.75 stars! Go watch it! Beautifully made and acted!

                                        

                                        

P.S. 'Padmaavat' needs to be watched by Karni Sena before protesting! The movie, in fact, upholds the Rajput Valor.