MKDNH Review: A Love Letter to Bollywood!

A smaller budget movie 'Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota' released alongside the magnum opus 'Kesari' and stars Bhagshree's son Abhimanyu Dassani making his Bollywood debut alongside Radhika Madan and Gulshan Devaiah. It is directed by Vasan Bala and has even won the 'People's Choice Award 2018' at the Toronto International Film Festival.

                                               

What's Good:  (This section is going to be super huge) Story: Vasan Bala keeps the story fresh, original, grounded and pitch perfect. Performances: Abhimanyu's Surya is outstanding, Radhika Madan's Supri is even better but it's Gulshan Devaiah's Jimmy which steals the show! An Ode to Bollywood: The use of various songs, movie references is absolute nostalgia and yes, will bring tears of joy as the movie progresses.Dialogues: The dialogues bring back the memories of the Salim-Javed duo. Opening and Closing Credits: Even better than what Deadpool had! Music: One is sure to walk of the theatre singing 'Rappan Rappi Rap' definitely. Editing and Screenplay: The editing and the screenplay are perfect and it is pure magic as the 132 minutes of the movie pass. Humour: The movie has a nice blend of dark and normal humor.

                                                       

What's Bad: It is just 132 minutes long! 

                                      

MKDNH is an absolute delight and cannot be missed by anyone alike. It has everything going for it and perhaps is the best movie of 2019 along with Gully Boy! Go for it. You won't regret it! 4 stars!

                                    

P.S. A movie that deserves your attention more than Kesari.

Kesari Review: A story that deserved better!

The Battle of  Saragarhi was a battle that took place in the British era of 1879 in India where 21 Sikh soldiers fought against 10,000 afghans to protect the Saragarhi fort. It was a story that was begging to be brought to celluloid and finally the master of patriotic acts Akshay Kumar brings this story to life with the help of Dharma Productions and director Anurag Singh.

                               

What's Good: Story: The Battle of Saragarhi is a reason alone you should watch Kesari. Performances: Performances are outstanding. Right from Akshay Kumar to Parineeti's special appearance, everything is outstanding. Action: Most of the action sequences are well choreographed. Dialogues: The dialogues are rousing and patriotic. Music: The song 'Teri Mitti' will echo long after you leave the theatre.

                                        

What's Bad: Editing: The editing is shabby and incoherent. First Half: The first half takes wayyyyyyyy to long to build up. Screenplay: The screenplay is pretty lazy. Exhausting: By the time the movie ends, the viewer is exhausted because of all of those fighting sequences that even the movie ending on an emotional note, fails to connect.

                                        

Kesari is a story that deserved better treatment. A shabby and slow first half is very average but is uplifted by a terrific and pacy second half but n0t enough to make you connect emotionally to the story but does rouse the patriotism a bit. I am going with 2.5 stars.

                                         

P.S. Do yourself a favor and watch 'Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota'.

Character Biopsies: Mrs. Priyamvada Kaushik from Badhaai Ho!

To begin with, it was an absolute delight to have Neena Gupta back on-screen after a long hiatus. She portrays the role of Mrs. Priyamvada Kaushik, a normal housewife with care and perfection. Not only is she a housewife, but also a wife, a mother and a daughter in law. 

Playing a normal middle-class woman can be tricky but Mrs.Priyamvada Kaushik is a bit different. She is soft and mellow most of the times but strong and opinionated when it comes to dealing with her unborn child. She is patient, honest and constantly bears with her nagging mother in law who never misses an opportunity to belittle her in front of his son especially in the sequences where they have mango and she refers her to Mandodari (Ravana's wife). 
She has her own small kitty party, where she prefers playing tambola the way it should be (fancy articulation of numbers) and keeping the regular normal gifts and surely treats her neighbors, her son's girlfriend and every visitor the way Indian culture wants them to be treated keeping aside all the differences she has with people.  

She stands by her decision of keeping her unborn child irrespective of what the society thinks of it. Not only that, unlike today's fast forward mother, Mrs. Kaushik prefers to stick to the old norms of stopping her son by giving him her 'Kasam' and never forgets her role as a wife who yearns for the company and love of her husband who has an outstation job. 
Throughout the movie, Mrs.Kaushik has a subtle agony which she tries not to let come to the table knowing there is nothing wrong in having a baby. Even knowing that her son is visibly upset with the news of her pregnancy, Mrs. Kaushik prefers to maintain a normal, healthy relationship with him as evident when she asks "Khana Khaa Liya Beta?", and thereafter Mrs. Kaushik's smile returns. On her son's break up, she instead of consoling him sits down with him on the terrace and they discuss everything; speaking about the bond she shares with her son no matter what happens. 

                                

Finally, Mrs. Priyamvada Kaushik is the mother next door, a daughter in law but most importantly she is a wife who stands tall by her husband, has her opinions and is someone an average Indian woman can look up to. Priyamvada does not want herself to be portrayed as a Goddess, she wants herself to be portrayed as a normal Indian woman who has her own needs.  
 Had it not been for Neena Gupta's evolved and matured performance, Badhaai Ho would not have been the riot and important movie it is! Kudos, Mrs. Priyamvada Kaushik, you are an inspiration for a normal housewife.  

Photograph Review: The development of this photograph is super tedious but the end product leaves you mesmerized!

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 a slow burner, apparently works for this one.

                                           

What's Bad: PACING: This movie is bound to make you super impatient to the level that you prefer to pull your hair but then if you manage sitting through it, it is Heartening and worth the wait. Magic: No doubt, Ritesh Batra delivers what he wants to, but that innocence is somewhere lost in succession. Premise: The premise of the movie is very limited. Too much of Feeling: This movie wants you to feel a lot, which at times just does not work!

                                                      

Final Word: Photograph is a delightful watch but demands a lot of things to be felt and needs impatience. Walking out of this movie would be easy because it WILL test your patience but if you sit through, the end product is absolutely heartening. This movie expects you to feel a lot, and if you do then this photograph is worth hanging. But since it works for me in parts, I am going with 3 stars and I do not expect it to make numbers at the box office!

                                              

P.S. This review comes 24 hours after I viewed the film because there was a question of what to write, but since morning my mind has been constantly thinking about Miloni and that Beautiful Climax!

Made in Heaven Review: The Heaven on Amazon Prime!

Amazon Prime's new original 'Made In Heaven', starring Arjun Mathur, Shobhita Dhulipala, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi in the lead roles and are ably supported by Jim Sarbh and Kalki Koechlin. The show is directed by Reema Kagti, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Srivastav and Prashant Nair and written and produced by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar. The premise revolves around a wedding planning company 'Made in Heaven' and their encounters with their inner selves, their clients amidst the hassles of executing a wedding.

                     

What's Good: Characters: The characters of MIH are fabulous, realistic, relatable and everything a typical masala Bollywood male/female character is not. They alone become the reason enough to watch this show. Story: Pretty much on the similar lines on the show Rishta.com,  MIH deals with the inner conflicts in great detail and offers logical solutions to them. Zoya Akhtar who has co-written the show does best what she has always done- A Perfect Portrayal of Dysfunctionality in Urban India. Cast: With the credentials involved, we know this shall not be disappointing. Photography and Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay captures the wedding scenes and the scenarios like never before. Realistic: The problems, the inner conflicts are spot on and relatable. Relevance: The topics of an extramarital affair, section 377, high aspirations, child abuse are dealt with finesse and care. Dialogues, Screenplay, Editing and Direction: With Zoya and Reema penning down the script and screenplay and 4 directors taking care of direction, there is absolutely nothing that goes wrong here. Editing by Pooja Soorti (Andhadhun editor) we know we are in for a delight.

                                           

What's Bad: The one and only first episode which takes a lot of time to build up!

                                           

Final Word: If you say Sacred Games is the best show to come out of India, I would have agreed if Made in Heaven had not come! Made In Heaven may not be raw and rustic, may not even have the slang that caters to the Indian audiences' but hits the bullseye when it comes to the portrayal of the dysfunctionality. The series definitely caters to the audience it is based on as well as to all age groups. An absolute must watch and perhaps the best web show available on a digital platform. I am going with 4 stars.

                                          

Favourite Character: Jaspreet 'Jazz' Kaur portrayed by the wonderful Shivani Raghuvanshi. The vulnerability, the class, the feelings, the conflicts, the importance of every penny was so well portrayed by her and she brought about the emotional heft and the vibes of 'small girl with big dreams' theme to the show.

Best Episode: Episode 3, directed by Nitya Mehra and starring Deepti Naval.

Badla Review: Revenge served Lukewarm!

After making thrillers like 'Kahaani', 'Ahalya' and the screenwriter for movies like 'Kahaani 2', 'Te3n' etc. Sujoy Ghosh, one of the best directors of Indian Cinema delivered these intense thrillers but soon after made 'Kahaani 2', which made his credibility in danger. He delivers 'Badla' this week, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles and all that can be said is, 'Revenge is best served COLD'. 'Badla' is an official adaptation of the Spanish film, 'The Invisible Guest'.

                                                

What's Good: Performances: Amitabh Bachchan is at his usual best as Badal Gupta. Amrita Singh as Rani is an absolute delight and we need to see more of her. Manav Kaul as Jimmy is good in his small cameo. Dialogues: The dialogues are decent enough. The Twists: The twists are good and unexpected and bring the much-needed thrill. Story: The story is an absolute delight. Screenplay: The screenplay adaptation is decently done by Ghosh. Mahabharat References: The references for the epic Mahabharat are absolutely ingenious and delightful. 

                                             

What's Bad: Taapsee Pannu: She seems to have walked directly from the sets of her movie 'Pink', it is an absolute let down from someone who delivered a scintillating performance in her last movie, Manmarziyaan. Being too smart for its taste: Director Sujoy Ghosh tries to act smart with his twists as if the audience would not see it coming, which they definitely see coming. Too many Twists: A simple, neat plot is turned upside down and complicated for its own taste. Thrills: Apart from a very few moments, the thrill seems to be missing, Bigtime!

                                             

Overall, Badla is a major disappointment which could have been so much better had not the movie been too smart for its own good! I am going with 2.5 stars for the movie and an extra half for the terrific act of Amrita Singh. The movie will probably rake in 45-50 crores lifetime considering the credentials involved. It could have actually been so much better had they stuck to the original premise.

                                           

P.S. Apparently it seems to be Taapsee Pannu's 'Badla' with the audience for letting down 'Manmarziyaan'. 

                                            

LC Review: Luka Chuppi, Bahut Hui!!

Recently, I was in conversation with someone regarding Tigmanshu Dhulia's comment as to why trash like Total Dhamaal mints unimaginable numbers at the box office. To this, I had a simple reply that not everyone can make a movie like 'Stree' or 'Badhaai Ho' which has the right amount of comedy and subtle social message. The same producers who delivered 'Stree' last year, present 'Luka Chuppi', a movie that exactly falls in between the likes of Total Dhamaal and Stree.

                                                   

What's Good: Characters: The characters apart from that of the leads are well etched for a small town setting and make everything look authentic. Dialogues: The dialogues are hands down the real hero of the movie. Super-Strong Supporting Cast: Alka Amin, Aparshakti, Atul Shrivastav, and the maestro Pankaj Tripathi provide the much needed and fabulous comic- relief. Genuinely Funny Moments: The movie has some funny moments though on the lower side. Background Score and Cinematography: The background score and the cinematography are a few of the positives of the movie.

                                               

What's Bad: Leads: Both Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon seem monotonous. While Kartik seems to have walked on from the sets of PKP-2, Kriti seems to have walked from the sets of Bareilly ki Barfi. Hideous Plot: The story of the movie is illogical and flat out hideous and fails to give what it set out to prove. Forced Situational Comedy: The comedy situations looked forced but then it the dialogues stood out. Relevance: The movie had so many elements it could have played with, but those elements which could have been actually relevant pave way for a love story (face-palm).  

                                                 

Final Word: Overall, if we overlook the hideous plot it has, Luka Chuppi has some chunk of genuine laughs and the movie can actually be beneficial as a stress buster especially after a tiring working day. It is a kind of 'Shudh Desi Romance' gone wrong. It tries to have an impactful relevance but fails. I am going with 2.5 stars for Luka Chuppi. Had the makers not paved way for a love story, Luka Chuppi without a doubt be one of the best movies of the year! But nonetheless, if you are looking for pure entertainment after a tiring day, give it a shot!      

                                               

P.S. If you are expecting some 'Stree' level content, then please stay away!