Posted by Unknown
Posted on 09:34
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Rating : 6/10 Release Date : 21st August, 2015 Time : 120 minutes Director: Ketan Mehta; Writers: Mahendar Jakhar, Ketan Mehta based on a true story; Music : Sandesh Shandilya Starring : Nawazuddin Siddique, Radhika Apte, Gaurav Dwivedi, Tigmanshu Dhuliya, Prashant Narayannan, Pankaj Tripathi, Ashraf Ul Haque
It’s an incredible story.
A man, Nawaz, in one of the most impoverished districts of India, with no means at his disposal, deciding to create a path through a rocky mountain, to ensure the fate that befell his beloved wife (Radhika), doesn’t happen to anyone else. He takes 22 years to hammer his way through and create a path. Overcoming countless obstacles – weather, lack of support from his father or the villagers, corruption, bureaucracy, the upper caste folk – he persists and succeeds.
However, strangely, I didn’t find the story all that inspiring. There was a touch of madness to his resolve, he lost a lot in terms of his relationships (friends or children) and got made a fool by the scheming bureaucrats and the mukhiya of his village
Nawaz gives a great performance, is very believable and Radhika is very good for the brief while she is there but I couldn’t help feeling that there was nothing new in the film – casteism, politicians bleeding the country dry, impoverishment – we’ve seen it all and (sadly) are almost inured to it…The humour is good – earthy and spicy, the music is very good
This is a story that needed to be told but perhaps it would’ve been better off as a short film, documentary or even a chapter in our school curriculum – making it a feature film made it stretch a bit too far.
Posted by Unknown
Posted on 09:24
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Rating : 4/10 Release Date : 21st August, 2015 Time : 126 minutes Director, Writer: Umesh Shukla; Music : Sanjoy Chowdhury Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin, Supriya Pathak, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub
This is an ad for the book Secrets masquerading as a movie
It’s also silly, maudlin, reliant on slapstick and ludicrousness and has one of the worst soundtracks in recent memory
Abhishek returns home from Bangkok after ten years to find his dictatorial, stingy father, Rishi Kapoor, deep in debt to the local toughie, Zeeshan Ayub, and his mother, Supriya Pathak, suffering from Alzheimers. Salvation could lie in some jewelry, left in the safe-keeping of his mother’s brother. Or the sale of his Dad’s bakery – which the Dad is fundamentally against. Thus begins a ridiculous, hare-brained ‘adventure’, which also involves Asin (who reads Secrets everyday), and is about to go in for an arranged marriage, but wants to get married to Abhishek, only he is too grumpy / anti-marriage (having seen his parents loveless one) to do so…
Along the way, the father-son bicker and try to resolve their issues, the toughie’s gang stumble and fumble their way around, stupid caricatures of Punjabi families abound, while Asin gives lovelorn looks and sheds silent tears.
The performances are average – the only one who impresses is Zeeshan – and the music is downright terrible. The second half, towards the end, improves a bit and does make a few valid points but it’s lost in the midst of the overall silliness. This is definitely a film that is the complete anti-thesis of its title…
Posted by Unknown
Posted on 03:39
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Rating : 5/10 Release Date : 17th July, 2015 Time : 159 minutes Director: Kabir Khan; Writer: Vijayendra Prasad; Music : Pritam (background by Julius Packham) Starring : Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sharat Saxena, Om Puri, Rajesh Sharma
If you’re prepared to go past an implausible premise, a lack of logic overall and see a tear-jerker kind of drama, laced with good intentions and a good heart (like our hero), but the same old (especially when it comes to the India – Pakistan theme) and strangely a Salman who behaves most unlike his normal screen avatar (throws four punches in the entire film, goes shirtless only once) and has the expression shown below for 80% of the film…. Then you are a better man than I am, Gunga Din…
Harshaali, a mute girl of 6, is lost in India, left behind by her sleeping mother. She somehow lands up with Salman Khan, just as an uncle in Pakistan consoles her sobbing mother with ‘Koi to nek banda milega use Hindustan mein’ (yes, it’s that cheesy a film). He looks after her, takes her to his future father in law’s place (Sharat Saxena) but then when they discover she is from Pakistan and on being given an ultimatum by his To-be-FIL, he vows to deliver her by himself to her home…
Kareena provides support in India and Nawazuddin does the same in Pakistan – both delivering strong performances – Kareena looking spunky, gorgeous (she’s always had this all knowing, superior kind of look, which suits her here) and Nawaz providing a touch of reality to Salman’s bravado – the response to any challenge is ‘Main Bajrang bali ka bhakt hoon’, which means he wont lie, sneak in, do anything bad or anything that is common-sensical and will bow in front of every simian creature he sees…
The film, more so in the second half, stretches, elongates and uses every trick in the book to try to wring a tear or two from your eyes. Especially with the tried and tested theme of how the people in India and Pakistan are but one, torn asunder by the armed forces and distrust.
Gorgeous visuals are Kabir Khan’s trademark and this movie doesn’t disappoint on that front. The songs are quite ordinary – maybe one which resonates (a bit because it plays in the background and doesn’t halt the story) and no, it isn’t the one with Adnan Sami (found that a bit pretentious). The best part of the film is the early bit in Pakistan when Nawaz is helping them on the run – the humour is subtle but comes through, especially the ‘aur thoda nazakat se’.
Wish the second half had more of that and an editor who could’ve comfortably reduced about half an hour of its current 159 minutes. It’s not a bad film, way better than say Bodyguard or Ready – but its just a little flat, maybe because the makers try so hard, with moist eyes and a jam-packed background score, to make us feel !
Posted by Unknown
Posted on 00:45
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Rating : 5/10 Release Date : 1st May, 2015 Time : 130 minutes Director : Krish; Writer : Rajat Arora (remake of Ramana by A R Murugadoss); Music : Chirantan Bhatt, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Manj Musik Starring : Akshay Kumar, Shruti Hassan, Suman Talwar, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sunil Grover
Five Reasons Why You Should Watch Gabbar
1. Its on the right topic – corruption in our country has become so ubiquitous we don’t even notice it, think about it anymore – and it truly is an evil that needs to be eradicated 2. The solution suggested – ie we individually have to get up and do something about it – not just start a chat group or hashtag on Twitter but actually shake off our inertia and take some concrete steps. Our politicians, bureaucrats & big businessmen are living in too much of a cozy “You scratch my back, I scratch yours” relationship to ever really break things up. Different political solutions have been tried and failed – each one has vested interests… 3. Akshay gives a decent performance – manages to be understated even while delivering the crowd pleasing lines. Jaideep and Sunil, both of whom play cops, also lend credibility to their roles
4. The story remains reasonably true to the topic – a crusade against corruption. Few diversions do come up (a back story, a romantic angle), but thankfully it doesn’t stray too far. There is also a hospital sequence that was great fun, will resonate with many! 5. One song – Teri Meri Kahani - is sung and pictured very nicely ! Enjoyed watching it for a change – else normally songs in most Hindi films are a great moment to catch up with the rest of the world for the audience.
Five Reasons Why You Should Not Watch Gabbar
1. There is nothing really new in the film. Nothing not seen in five hundred films on corruption, one man crusades, revenge sagas. Not a single new thought or visual. Action wise – it’s the same old – people flying all over the place with the aid of cables, dialogue wise, it really couldn’t get cheesier than some of the lines (Hamara system baby ke diaper ki tarah ho gaya hai – kahin se geela aur kahin se dheela!) 2. Lots of things really stretch credibility. The size of his team / staunch supporters, the college angle, the kind of people he manages to catch & kill with impunity – all of this beggars belief. And he, of course, acquires miraculous powers when he chooses, decimating gangs of villains single-handedly... 3. Our cops have to be the dumbest in the world – they really are shown to be the sort who literally sit with their heads in their hands, and eat samosa with lal chutney, while top officials get kidnapped and killed around them. Even their top CBI guy seems clueless on what specifically to do…
4. What is Shruti Hassan doing here? What is her role – apart from one song in Lavasa, what does she really bring to the party ? Wonder why film-makers feel forced to add an unnecessary romantic track. I also thought Suman made for a very weak villain…quite ordinary… 5. There is a really crass, crude, vulgar item song - Aao Raja – starring my one time hot favourite Chitrangda (of all people). Am surprised with the kind of visuals and lyrics it has (and it wasn’t even needed in the film, was a kind of force-fit), the film got away with a less than A rating. And why, pray why, Chitrangda, are you stooping to this level ?
Overall, I went with really low expectations but the film, thankfully, wasn’t all that bad, or maybe my standards have dropped in terms of what Hindi commercial, masala films can deliver
Posted by Unknown
Posted on 01:18
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Rating : 8/10 Release Date : 7th March, 2014 Time : 146 minutes Director & Writer : Vikas Bahl; Music : Amit Trivedi Starring : Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Yogendra Tiku, Chinmaya Agarawal, Tripta Lakhanpal, Lisa Haydon, Mish Boyko, Jeffrey Ho, Joesph Guitobh, Canade Lopez, Nayani Dixit, Sabeeka Imam
A very famous director once told me that one of the best ways to evaluate films is to look for moments in the movie…moments which touch you, you can relate to, which you remember long after the last reel has come to a halt. By that logic, I’m happy to announce that Queen is replete with such endearing moments and if you haven’t seen it in the cinema hall, would recommend you do so immediately.
Kangana, a denizen of Rajouri Garden, Delhi, is relentlessly wooed before being unceremoniously dumped by her fiancée, Rajkumar Rao, just a day before their wedding. Being brought up as typically daughters are in that locality, over-protected, always chaperoned, not really worldy-wise, always letting the men decide for them, she decides she wants to travel on her honeymoon, by herself. And so we get a very innocent, sweet, naïve, not very fluent in English, girl from Rajouri travel to Paris and Amsterdam and discover her true self in the process.
She encounters an eclectic mix of characters on this journey…Lisa Haydon, a half-Indian, gorgeous creature who lives, loves and laughs. Mish Boyko, an artist who paints to get rid of his frustration, Jeffrey Ho, a fun loving Japanese, away from home to escape from sad memories, Joseph Guitobh, who makes beautiful music and of course, Canadea Lopez, who insists Italian food must be eaten as it is, without being Indian-ized.
Memorable moments include Kangana going through a mental check list while getting her mehndi done, Rajkumar’s classic MCP behavior when it comes to her dress, desire to work, drink alcohol etc including his special brahmastara “Mummyji ko pata chal gaya to ?”, the father and son fascination with Lisa and her voluptuous twin assets, the grandmother’s sage advice regarding heartbreak, Kangana’s call to a fictitious boyfriend to try and ‘protect’ herself, her non-stop chatter (in Hindi) regardless of who is around her and overall, watching her gain confidence, without losing her own identity in the process.
After a long while, saw a Hindi film which got the nuances right. It is a over-simplified fable kind of story, but with its heart firmly in the right place. Accompanied by great music, excellent and (for a change) pithy dialogue and superb performances (new found respect for Kangana, who infuses life into this simple girl from Rajouri), this film really made you smile, several times, as the queen waltzes in our hearts
