The Bollywood Elephant

The controversial movie, 'The Accidental Prime Minister' has finally hit the theatres and has Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna, Suzzane Bernet, Vipin Sharma, Arjun Mathur essaying major roles in the movie. It is based on the book by Sanjay Baru of the same name.                                                                   Anupam Kher as the accidental prime minister, Manmohan Singh is quite underwhelming and it seems as if he is more into mimicking the former prime minister and it often turns out to be amusing than interesting. Akshaye Khanna as the media advisor Baru is absolutely fabulous and tries his best to lift an otherwise a relatively poor film. Divya Seth, Suzzane Bernet, Arjun Mathur make an appearance and do a good job.                                               Based on Baru's book, the movie had all the right ingredients to be a taut political thriller but is reduced to being a snoozefest documentary thanks to debutant director's Vijay

'Uri:  The Surgical Strike' is based on the covert operation carried out by the Indian army in  Pakistan occupied Kashmir, in retaliation of the Uri attacks in 2016. The movie is directed by the debutant Aditya Dhar and has Vicky Kaushal, taking the command of this war film.                                                                                                               After acing in roles from Raazi, Mamnarziyaan, Vicky Kaushal yet again proves his versatility as Major Vihaan Shergill. He portrays the role to perfection and takes the film to another level. Actors Kirti Kulhari, Rajit Kapoor, Swaroop Sampat, Paresh Rawal, Yami Gautam, Mohit Raina, Mansi Parekh etc. make an appearance and do a brilliant job in their respective roles. A special mention to Mohit Raina's Major Karan Sharma that left a huge impact and he did a great job in his debut.                                          If a viewer knows about the end of the movie, it is entir

2018 has been an interesting year for the film industry around the world. With some major banners falling below expectations and small banners springing up surprises. The net revenue of Bollywood has grown from $116.8 billion in 2017 to $132.8 billion in 2018. In a first, there was a failure of domination of the Khans at the box office that was surpassed by Khurana, Rao and Kaushal aka Talents and Story. Like it is, if there are good films, there are bad films.                             Before discussing the good films, here are 5 films that disappointed me the most: 5.) Namaste England: Regressive, Demeaning and Poorly Acted and Directed.                                                             4.) Welcome to New York: Still figuring out what they wanted to deliver.                                                                3.) Race 3: Anything and everything happening.                                                         2.) Thugs of Hindostan: Childi

The much-awaited mammoth '2.0' finally hit the theatres with superstar Rajnikanth reprising his role of the human-robot Chitti and with Akshay Kumar and Amy Jackson joining him in this time!                                               Rajnikanth as Vasigaran/Chitti/Chitti 2.0 does full justice to his roles as the human robot. He and his expressions are spot-on!! Akshay Kumar as the antagonist Pakshi  Rajan is menacing but does not have enough meat for his role. Amy Jackson plays the role of the pretty damsel really well as Nila. And it is an out and out Rajni movie.                                                           Shanker delivers us ' Rajni brand of entertainment' after Robot. Though his screenplay, the story is weak but his direction is good and offers a strong message as well. The VFX is top-notch and really makes the movie look an absolute delight. However, the over the top emotional quotient, forced social message do some damage to the second ha

This week is the release of a low-key movie 'Baazaar' starring Saif Ali Khan, late actor Vinod Mehra's son Rohan Mehra, Radhika Apte and Chitrangda Singh in the lead roles and is directed by debutant director Gauravv K Chawla.                                                                                                                             Saif Ali Khan is back and how! He makes a fabulous act as a shrewd business Shakun Kothari and delivers a fabulous performance. Rohan Mehra, who makes his debut is literally outstanding and makes a debut which makes you want to see more of him. He does make his late father Vinod Mehra proud. Radhika Apte as Priya is interesting and pivotal. Chitrangda Singh has a lot of heavy lifting to do in the movie as Mandira and makes a just about effort to portray it.                                      Debutant director keeps the direction absolutely sleek and fabulous. An interesting plot keeps the viewer invested and t

The kind of cinema Ayushmann Khurana is been associated with is rather amazing and surprising. He has been associated with taboo breaking cinema and this week's release 'Badhaai Ho' is no exception. He movie revolves around the central idea of parents in their early 50s, receive the news of the pregnancy.                                         Ayushmann Khurana is on fire and quite literally. If you thought Andhadhun was his career best, be ready to re-think your choice. He just expresses Nakul onto another level. The real boss here is Surekha Sikri who as dadi, gets the best one-liners and is surely one of the most compelling supporting actor one shall see. Gajraj Rao and Neena Gupta are fabulous and express their varied expressions with ease and share an adorable chemistry. Shardul Rana, Sheeba Chadha and Sanya Malhotra don't have much to do but are great in whatever little role they have.                                        Debutant Amit R

This week Varun Dhawan's 'Sui Dhaga: Made in India' released along side Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Patakhaa'. So, I decided to review this Sharat Katariya directed affair and it was a totally sound decision.                              Varun Dhawan is exemplary in his role as Mauji. His dialect, appearance and acting are all on point. He brings an unusual charm to Mauji. On the other hand, Anushka as Mamta is totally terrific. Her angst, emotions are all on point. They share a crackling chemistry which lights the screen. Raghubir Yadav as Mauji's father, Yamini Dass as Mauji's mother, Namit Das as Guddu play their role and to perfection. The movie is sound in the acting department.                                                  Writer-Director Sharat Katariya keeps the story simple like his previous movie, 'Dum laga Ke Haisha' and that is where there is disappointment. The story had enormous potential which is left half done due to a