The Bollywood Elephant

This week saw the release of Ajay Devgn and Tabu's 'De De Pyaar De' which was directed by debutante Akiv Ali. The premise revolves around a man who goes to India with his girlfriend to his family for their approval. An interesting premise, let's see how it is:                                                         What's Good:   Acting:  Tabu is an absolute delight. Devgn and Rakul Preet are good. The supporting cast and many surprise appearances are phenomenal and elevate the movie experience. Music:  The music is nice and the revamp 'Hauli Hauli' will stick with you for long. Comic Timing:  The comic timing is simply pitch-perfect. Message and Strong Emotion: The movie has a message which may not have been delivered is not interesting but is important and laced with strong emotions.         ...

John Wick series is an action based thriller franchise whose last movie John Wick: Chapter 2 hit the screens in 2017. John Wick 3: Parabellum (meaning prepare for war in Russian) hit the screens this 15th May and can be said: "This is how one makes a sequel."                                                  What's Good:  Acting:  Keanu Reeves yet again tells us that no one apart from him can play 'Jonathan Wick' and Ian McShane tells us that no one can play the manager of the Continental better than him. Action Sequence:  The action sequences are beyond outstanding and well choreographed. Story:  Begins from where the prequel had left, the story is interesting and engaging. Background Score:  The background score dwells very well with the narration. Pacing: The 129 minutes of the movie pass unnoticed. The brilliance of the direct...

10 years and 21 movies later, the most anticipated  Marvel movie "Avengers: EndGame" has finally hit the screens. There is a going to be a lot of tears, denials as a few major characters finally bid goodbye to the characters we have seen as we grew up.                                                What's Good:   Acting:  Needless to say, all these heroes are played by the actors over a decade now, so yes all is done to perfection. Story: Could not have been presented in a better way. Action, Dialogues, and Cinematography: Does not hit a false note anywhere.                                               What's Bad:   Captain Marvel: U have to see the movie to understand. Can't give out spoilers. Thorough Revision of...

After so many delays, Dharma Productions magnum opus 'Kalank'  starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Kunal Kemmu, Kiara Advani, Anchint Kaur etc. etc. It is scripted and directed by a 1-filmed old director Abhishek Varman.                                           What's Good:   Acting:  Credit is given where it is due. Acting performances are top notch. Aditya and Sonakshi are hands down the best! They are ably supported by the rest of the ensemble cast but these rightfully deserve every accolade. Costume and Set Design:  The costume and set design are absolutely spectacular and Bhansali level. Costumes are well depicted by Manish Malhotra. Music:  Surprisingly, Pritam's music is one of the better things of this magnum opus.                  ...

Finally, exploring my boundaries to the Tamil Cinema with Vijay Sethupathi, Samantha Akkineni, Ramya Krishna starrer 'Super Deluxe' directed by Thiagarajan Kumararajan.  It deals with 3 parallel lives of these leads with an underlying social message that comes together at the end.                                   What's Good:  Acting: The 3 leads are amazing with Vijay Sethupathi holding the baton as transgender Shilpa and is ably supported by each and every actor. Story:  The story by Thiagarajan Kumararajan is an absolute delight engulfing social ideas as well. Direction and Cinematography: Kumararajan deserves applause for bringing such a story to the table. Humor and Situation:  The humor and situation are so well done and scripted that just makes things funny.                               ...

Very often we end up surfing youtube to kill the time we have. And it is in these random moments that we come across some hidden gems, one such being Neelima Azeem's show, Mom and Co. which is directed by Ashish Ranglani and presented by The Zoom Studios.                                 What's Good:   Acting:  The cast is pitch perfect for their roles. Neelima Azeem shines in her web debut as Aai and Ayush Joshi as Aditya is nearly perfect for his role. They are ably supported by Shreya, played by an effervescent Shreya Gupto. Story:  A simple and a mature story should have been told by now and finally this happens. Direction:  Ashish Ranglani's direction is amazing and is exactly how the story should have been told. Dialogues, Locations, Groundedness: The characters, locations, and the overall believability of the show is something, where it's the essence which is captured.  ...

This week Sushant Singh Rajput's  John Abraham's Romeo Akbar Walter aka RAW hit the theatres, another thriller that was based in the year 1971 and is based on the true story of a spy. It stars John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy, Sikander Kher and Alka  Amin in pivotal roles.                                                    What's Good:   Acting: Credit is given where it's due, John needed to be expressionless as a RAW agent and he does a great job. Jackie Shroff, Sikander Kher are amazing in their roles and others are good as well except Mouni Roy who has no significant role. DOP : The cinematography and photography are pretty decent and captures exactly what is needed. Dialect and Costumes:  All the characters, their costume, and their dialect are absolutely spot on.               ...