Friday, 25 August 2017

AGSSR Review: Sundar but niether Susheel nor Risky. But definitely Stylish.

Barely one gets movies where the lead actors cannot act. What is even more surprising is that in India if you are a 'beautiful face' you get to face the camera even if you have no talent! "A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky" is one such movie. Starring the "handsome" Siddharth Malhotra and the "glam doll" Jacquiline Fernandez. Lets see what is worth going for the movie.
 
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Siddharth Malhotra as Rishi/ Gaurav tries to give his best but fails miserably. His action sequences are least convincing. But his styling is sauve and adds to the glam quotient of the film. Jacquiline as Kavya does justice to her role of a glam doll. Her style, dresses and costumes make Kavya's mischiefs come alive. Suniel Shetty surprises by not being able to act well. Darshan Kumar, the only actor is unable  to pull the movie because of a screen time of barely 15 minutes. A perfect ZERO to the movie in the acting department.
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With a plot so convoluted, the movie loses its impact. What could have been a 'safe' play for the directors, in the awe of doing something brilliant, they lose the plot. Though the directors make the locations of Miami, Mumbai and Bangkok appear beautiful which are complemented by some amazing music and background score by Sachin-Jigar. The songs are the highlight of the movie. The dialogues are nice just like the cinematography and rest of the aspects are average at best.
 
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The movie even trolls itself with one dialogue: "Jab Jab Jiske Lagne Hain, Tab Tab Uske Lagte Hain." and rightly so. The movie literally "Lagao's" it's own. WIth the beautiful locations, Jacquiline and songs going for it, this gentleman manages to be a one time watch. I rate the movie 2 stars. Watch it at your own risk.
 
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P.S. "BAREILLY KI BARFI" should be your watch even if one has other choices, because for me BKB is the best movie of August 2017.

Saturday, 19 August 2017

BKB Review: Khaane se lekar Hajme tak, Sab A-1!

Before I start this review, I want the readers to note that this is going to be a full UP style review of BKB which stars Ayushmann Khurana, Kriti Sanon, Rajkummar Rao, Seema Pahwa and Pankaj Tripathi. Directed by filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and written by her husband and director Nitesh Tiwari.And from her, begins U.P. waali bhasha.
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  Chirag Dubey aka Ayushmann Khurana ka kaam film mein ekdum tip-taap waala hai. Unki aur Bitti aka Kriti Sanon ki Jodi ekdum mast hai. Waheen pe humare Prem Vidrohi aka Rajkummar Rao apne abhinay se sabke muah se malai maar ke le jaate hain. Unki aur Bitti ki chemistry aag lagane ke kaabil hai. Magar sabse zyada hasaati hain humari Bitti ki Mummy aka Seema Pahwa aur Bitti ke papa Pankaj Tripathi. Acting vibhaag mein film toh sabki baap nikalti hai. Koi agar aapse bole ki acting jami nahi toh bejhijak aap unhe kantaap maar sakte hain.
 
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Iss filam ke technical hisse mein koi dikkate nahi hai. Cinematography toh wo lajawab, direction toh wo top kilaas, acting bhi bemisaal, galti dhonde toh dhonde kaise? Badi hi mushkil se film ki editing mein thodi problem dekhi. Magar kewal 1-2 jagah. Kahaani bahut hi seddhi saadhi, ache bachche ki tarah hai.  Dialogues toh ekdum humare UP jaise hain. Hasaate hain aur itna ki pait dukh jaaye. Ek chote budget ki picture se gaanon ke mamle mein kuch zyada ummeedein nahi hoti hain magar kya gaane hain picture ke! Full on UP ishtyle ke, chahe wo "Sweety Tera Drama" ho ya "Twist Kamariya" ho ya "Nazm Nazm" ho. Poori filam ekdum top kilaas, UP Ishtyle hai.   
 
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Sab kuch keh gaye ye Kumar bhaiya.. Bareilly Ki Barfi iss saal ki sabse achi film ho sakti thi agar thodi aur kahaani hoti! Koi na! Agar achi nahi lagi aapko ye barfi toh hum aapke swaad ki ninda karte hain. Apna swaad sudhariye!  Dena chahata tha 4.5 star magar editing ne kaam bigaad diya aur isse Barfi ko milte hai 4 star! Jaayein nazdeeki cinema ghar mein bharosa karke! Bareilly Ki Barfi filam kahaani ke bare mein nahi hai, kirdaron ke baare mein hai.
 
                                                
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P.S. Bareilly Ki Barfi khaane ke baad aapko "Toilet" nahi jaana padega.

Tuesday, 15 August 2017

TEPK Review: Ek Manmohak Katha!

This Friday saw the release of Akshay's Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, a movie highlighting the sanitation problem in our country. The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Padnekar,  Anupam Kher,  Divyendu Sharma and others.
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Akshay Kumar as Keshav is phenomenal. Divyendu Sharma as Naru,  Keshav's brother is outstanding. Anupam Kher as Kala provide the much comic relief in a movie highlighting a serious issue. As for Bhumi Padnekar all one can say is "Hans Mat Pagle,  Pyaar Ho Jayega." Her portrayal of Jaya is unmatched by all other actors. Akshay and Bhumi's chemistry was sizzling and praise worthy.              
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TEPK is a beautifully directed movie where a lot of credit goes to the director for bringing up an entertaining movie which could have been a plain lecture on sanitation.  The subtle comic dialogues, camerawork and other aspects are bang on.  The essence of a small town U.P/M.P. is captured brilliantly from the dialogues to the setting. Only the music is disappointing. Music is simply average. The background score is also poor but other sources are good except that the last 30 minutes are a little too preachy.
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TEPK tickles the funny bone as well as gives a message. The last 30 minutes and the music disappoint. But has enough entertainment for keeping one glued for its 2.5 hours sans the songs. I rate the movie 3.5 stars. Do not miss it because each wholesome entertainer. The business of the movie should be between 125-135 crores due to a very positive word of mouth. 
 
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P.S. It deserves all the praise it is receiving!

Friday, 4 August 2017

JHMS Review: Jab Imtiaz met the Curse of the Second Half!

With high hopes pinned on Jab Harry Met Sejal both in terms of box office figures and content, let's see what JHMS has to offer. Sadly but true, Imtiaz Ali seems to have lost his Midas touch. His intention of conveying a message about relationships and love falters and JHMS lands as his weakest movie to date. But the movie does have some good points! Which ones? Read along!
 
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What is commendable  about the movie are the performances. Shah Rukh Khan as the tour guide Harry does a commendable job. His act of a 'characterless' man is decent. Anushka Sharma as Sejal is outstanding. Her performance as a moron "modern" girl looking for her lost ring is impressive. Her dialogue delivery was amazing. Sadly, the iconic SRK- Anushka chemistry was missing.The rest of the cast do an average job in their whatsoever little roles.
 
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Imtiaz Ali has written and directed this movie. Super- sadly, his story has a wafer thin plot. As common to all his movies, JHMS also has its bit of self realization of the characters, characters which have no clue what they are upto, all they know is that they are searching for a ring. The scenes in the movie are NOT connected to each other. It seems that Imtiaz wrote the story on the set of the movie itself.  The camerawork, the dialogues, costumes are average at best. The cinematography is amazing. The essence of eastern Europe is well captured. Another good thing apart from performances is Pritam's music. "Hawayein", "Beech Beech Mein" are personal favourites. Other songs are also audible to the ears. It has been long since I saw a movie with misplaced songs! Practically each and every song of the movie is a perfect misfit. JHMS is a Disappointment.
 
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JHMS could've been "the movie" we had been waiting for but the weak script and Imtiaz's weak direction disappoint. I enjoyed the first half of the movie and was looking forward to the movie post interval and when the second half started  I knew the movie headed for a disaster.The movie does have the sparks of a romantic drama but a poor second half and a very boring climax  ruin this movie. I am going with 2.5 stars another half for the performances. So, JHMS gets 3 stars  from me. Could have been a better movie! When an SRK movie has 60% occupancy for a night show and a mixed word of mouth, the movie should do a lifetime business of 90-120 crores. Flop!
 
                                                       
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P.S. I have never seen a movie with so many distracted audience who were constantly on their phones as the movie progressed. Pretty much speaks about audiences' connect with the movie. 


Monday, 31 July 2017

LUMB Review: Extraordinarily Humourous, Desirable Literotica holding a mirror to our society!

Finally Lipstick under my Burkha released in cinemas after a long battle with censor board. What Pahlaj Nihalani called "Lady Oriented" is what I call "Freedom of Expression of a Woman". But why are we recieving extreme negative and positive reactions. Lets find out!

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Ratna Pathak Shah as Buaji/Rosy, Konkana Sen Sharma as Sheereen, Plabita Borthakur as Rihana and Aahana Kumra as Leela are simply outstanding in their respective roles. Their angst, frustration, that longing for freedom is evident through their eyes.  Sushant Singh, Shashank Arora and Vikrant Massey provide an able support to these terrific ladies. With performances so strong,  LUMB can alone be watched for the same.
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LUMB is an example of a movie where we see a sharp narrative co existing with an excellent sense of humour. The movie has a wafer thin plot which is just a little too simple but Alankrita Shrivastava's direction makes this wafer thin plot appear humorous and serious at the same time.  The dialogues, camerawork, cinematography,  background score are bang on excellent. The story revolves around the "desires of a woman" which I think is not wrong to express. If this would have been revolving around men,  no questions would've been asked. But since it's a woman,  hence questions are raised which are absolutely pointless. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.
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The narrative of the movie can make people uncomfortable because of the subtle erotic undertones and it's explicit scenes. These elements come too often because of which people might find it as a "B or C grade" movie.  People need to overcome their thoughts and understand the significance of the narrative. Neither does the movie target a particular section of the audience! For ex. A scene in the movie where the trainer asks Ratna's character her name, she says, "Buaji." He laughs and says "Meri Buaji toh nahi ho."and she goes into a trans and  again he asks her name to which she replies "Usha." That trans is significant that a woman has spent so many years of her life caring for others to which she began to be called "Buaji" and no one bothered to ask her real name and in the process she nearly forgot her real name! Well, that also holds a mirror to our society to a certain extent as well that how down-trodden the society has become towards elderly widows.
                     

With all said and done Lipstick Under My Burkha deserves 4 stars for its bold,  desirable,  appreciated take on women. Excellent job by director Alankrita Shrivastava.
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P.S. Watch it only if one can tolerate art house movies.

Sunday, 23 July 2017

GLAANI.


The story opens in a hospital in Haryana, where we see Savitri (VidyaBalan) undergoing sex determination while her husband Dushyant(Manoj Bajpayee) looks towards her and says, “We have to.” Savitri pleads but in vain. “It’s a girl.” Replies the doctor. Savitri cries.

Dushyant and Savitri return home and argue. The argument is so audible that their 3 year old daughter wakes up from her sleep and approaches their room. Seeing her standing at the door, Dushyant commands her to go to sleep as they continue their banter.

During this banter, Dushyant pushes Savitri so hard that she hits the bed & falls down unconscious. She opens her eyes in the same hospital where she sees Dushyant smiling at her and Dushyant exclaims, “Thank u!” and leaves.

Come forward Savitri’s mother, Seema(Jaya Bachchan) who tells Savitri that in order to save her life the doctors had t0 take out her foetus. Both Savitri and Seema seem to have broken down and so finally Savitri decides to file a case against her own husband, Dushyant claiming that he was responsible for the death of her female child and also in the same case she holds Dushyant responsible for giving her a female child.

A reluctant police officer files Savitri’s case which causes a huge uproar in the media. In a state like Haryana lawyers are reluctant on taking Savitri’s case because of which she decides to fight her own case. Savitri, her daughter and Seema start to receive death threats but Savitri is undeterred and all ready to fight the case.

She gets police protection and before anything else, the court has to decide whether such a case can be accepted or not.With some pressure of the officials on the judiciary, they instigate Naina Roy(Sushmita Sen) as the judge for this case.

On the day of the case, Savitri is surprised to see the public prosecutor to be her father, Rajnath (Boman Irani). Seema and Rajnath had a divorce when Savitri was 3 years old and Rajnath tells Savitri that she has an elder brother, Tanmay(Rajkummar Rao), who neither Savitri nor Seema have met ever since their divorce. Rajnath takes a dig at Seema by saying that glad he took a divorce from Seema had he known that their daughter would be such a person. This infuriates Savitri but before she can act, Naina comes into the court and asks for proceedings to start.

Savitri shows all reports of her sex determination to the judge and asks that Dushyant should be booked under the section of forced sex determination and domestic violence. Rajnath speaks nothing but when Savitri puts the point that it was Dushyant who impregnated her with a female sperm. This goes down to be hilarious and both, Rajnath and Naina ask for proof. She then begins by illustrating that it is generally a man’s choice in sex determination of the child and a woman cannot be blamed for the same because a man’s sperm is of 2 types and it is generally their sperm that decides the sex of the baby.

She then gets biologists to confirm this theory and they also cement Savitri’s stand. Convinced enough, Naina accepts the case and books Dushyant under the domestic violence act.

Outside the court, she sees an angry mob burning her face and insulting her. Rajnath approaches Seema and Savitri and says, “Let’s see till which area u can go safe.” And suddenly rings Savitri’s phone, “If u want to see ur daughter alive, take back the case.” and Savitri and Seema return home and find that her daughter is missing.

Clueless on what to do, Savitri decides to take the case back. Meanwhile, Seema tells Savitri that Rajnath insisted that she has an abortion when he came to know that Seema had a baby girl. Instead, she decided to divorce him and raise Savitri on her own. In her own mind, Savitri feels that history is repeating itself and the media are not letting the hype die out.

Naina at her bungalow is revisits about how she fought with her husband to bring up her daughter, who is now married. “Today life has brought you to the same platform where u fought with me over a similar thing. Today which one are u going to choose?” asks Naina’s wheelchair bound husband. “Whatever I will chose the right thing.”Replies Naina.

Meanwhile, Savitri and Seema along with the help of police are trying to locate Savitri’s daughter. Savitri gets a ransom call inspite of being asked to withdraw the case . The police locate the call in an abandoned warehouse where they see Savitri’s daughter lying unconscious surrounded by 4 goons. The police try to nab them but are unsuccessful to do so. They have a round of gunshots after which the goons try to escape, while escaping one of the goons shoots Savitri who lies down unconscious, though the police manage to save her daughter.

                                           

 

 

 

The movie shifts focus to the next hearing of the court where we see a suited Seema representing her daughter, Savitri after the incident is in the ICU and her daughter has come to court with her granny, Seema. The day starts with interrogation of the hospital staff and in the conclusion, the court cancels their license. The court asks Seema for more proofs in order to get Dushyant convicted. But, Seema asks for some for time to which Naina agrees.

Media gets the news that the case has now turned into a battle of husband-wife, who at no cost can allow each other to win. There is a knock on Seema’s door where she is seen supported by many other woman who also were a victim to sex determination and lost their child. Soon, this war turns into a movement with many woman coming out in support of Savitri. Seema gets support but is not able to get any evidence against Dushyant.

Seema out of options, begins to track Rajnath. She reaches Rajnath’s place where she hears Rajnath speaking to someone over the phone, “Don’t worry. Seema would not be able to prove anything. U just relax.” Curious to know who called Rajnath, Seema seeks help of another woman to follow but while she is leaving, Rajnath’s gaurds catch hold of Seema and present her in front of him who says, “Seema, Seema, Seemau woman are so irritating and shameless. It’s been 26 yearssince we got divorced, todayalso u live an illusion where u think that u can progress .This is Haryana, here woman do not have the guts to fight their husband for anything have started a revolt. What do u think of urself? Take her and lock her in the basement. She should not reach court tomorrow. I will get the case dismissed  saying that u are an escapist. U lacked evidence so to avoid defeat u didn’t turn up” 

Seema feels helpless. She can’t do anything. She spends the night in the room of the basement and the next morning, a tired Savitri sees the light of the day when Tanmay opens the door to explore the house. Seema is both happy and sad to see Tanmay and tells him everything about what happened 26 years ago. Tanmay is shocked and drives Seema to court, meanwhile Seema calls up one of the ladies supporting her to inquire about Savitri and Savitri’s daughter. She is relieved to hear that Savitri’s daughter is safe but is worried when she knows that Savitri is missing.

She gets worried, calls up the doctor, in the hospital but is unable to locate her. Meanwhile, Tanmay rings up his friend, DSP and access Rajnath’s call records. He hands over the call records to his mother immediately reaches the court to find an injured Savitri fighting against Rajnath. She enters the court and as per the procedures, she steps into the witness box and says that it was Rajnath who locked her up in his bungalow and it was Tanmay who opened the door and saved her. Tanmay agrees. He also mentions that he is ashamed of his m=father and the people who have such mentalities towards women. He apologises to Seema and Savitri and comes off the deck.

Seema takes over the case from  an injured Savitri and says, “Sorry your honour. I would like Mr. Roy to be called into court as some proceedings can’t carry on without him.” Naina is shocked but orders Mr. Roy to be present.

Mr. Roy is brought in. Seema shows the call records of Rajnath and Mr. Roy where it has been evident that eversince the start of the case, Rajnath and Roy were in contact and Mr. Roy also had contacts with the goons who might have abducted Savitri’s daughter.

“Haan. It was me who got Savitri’s child abducted. It was me, who asked the goons to shoot anyone who tried to rescue that girl.” Says Mr. Roy. “But why?” asks Seema. “To teach all u woman that u have limits in which u should stay. U should not cross though. It is Haryana, where sex determination is legal. Every woman is bound to limits amd chains. Had I not been wheelchair bound, my wife would have also been at home.”  Replies Mr. Roy. This hurts Naina a lot but due to commitment issues she cannot show it to others.

Naina concludes by saying, “That today’s verdict is a verdict that all of Indian women should know about. It is nothing short of the bondages that a woman has broken. And because of some male chauvinists this freedom cannot be limited. I hereby conclude by convicting Mr. Dushyant for domestic violence and sex determination. Mr. Roy, Mr. Dushyant and Mr. Rajnath for devising a child’s abduction to prove their point. The court would like to condemn the actions of the hospital and appreciate Mrs. Seema and Mrs. Savitri for bringing in the courage and effort for speaking up for all the women in the country. The court is adjourned.”

Seema and Savitri hug each other as tears roll down their cheeks. Tanmay meets his mother and sister after 26 years and apologises for Rajnath’s behavior. Savitri (still unwell) is taken out by Tanmay and her daughter outside the court where politicians, women and the media are appreciating and lauding their efforts. They are soon joined by Naina, who apologises and condemns her husband’s behavior towards the family.  And the story ends!

Monday, 17 July 2017

JJ Review: Watch Real Life Animation! Innovative and Beautiful!

Jagga Jasoos finally released after a delay of 4 years,  but was it worth the wait?  Let's find that out. JJ is a proud attempt at musicals in Bollywood.  The movie did go haywire but does deserve applaud for its attempt.

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Ranbir Kapoor as the lead protagonist Jagga is outstanding. His stammering, acting,  eyes emotions are well depicted.  Saswata Chaterjee as Jagga's father does an amazing job. His act is short but effective. Katrina Kaif like always is ineffective and just a pretty face. Saurabh Shukla as ACP Sinha is amusing and entertaining. Everyone except Katrina do an excellent job.

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The major attraction of the movie is its music. Given by Pritam,  the music is nice but at times goes a little too overboard. Songs like "Ullu ka Pattha", "Galti se Mistake" are simply amazing and foot tapping.  It's not easy to watch the movie that has 29 songs if the story and screenplay are not tight enough to hold viewers attention. And the movie misfires at this level. A lousy screenplay ruin this good musical and it's pace.  Had the screenplay been taut JJ would have been a great musical. Nonetheless,  the direction,  lyrics,  dialogues(which have a lyrical approach to them) are good. Anurag Basu does try to craft a masterpiece but fails. What is really great is that JJ gives us major feels of an animation movie.  It brings animation come alive in real life with real actors.  Such was the brilliance of its camerawork. Innovative!

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With all things said,  JJ could have been a better movie but with main ingredient of story and screenplay missing,  JJ settles for a one time watch. The movie should be watched because of it being a potential musical and it is thoroughly a Disney Movie with colours,  vibrancy all over. I am going with 3 stars for the movie and another half star for Ranbir's effortless performance. Box Office should be between 55-75 crores. The movie is following Dil Dhadakne Do's trend.

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Like Ranbir's 2015 gem, Tamasha, Jagga Jasoos is bound to have extreme  reactions of audience- Either good or bad. Barely will an "Ok type" be heard for this movie.

P.S. Do NOT watch JJ if you don't like musicals and you prefer a fast pace movie because JJ is slow.

Sushant Singh Rajput: An Inspiration and a Legend!

It has been 42 days since Sushant Singh Rajput left for his heavenly abode on the 14th of June, 2020. In this write-up, The Bollywood Elepha...