Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 22nd May, 2015
Time : 120 minutes
Director : Anand L Rai; Writer : Himanshu Sharma; Music : Krsna, Tanishk-Vayu
Starring : Kangana Ranaut, R Madhavan, Deepak Dobriyal, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Jimmy Shergill, K K Raina, Rajesh Sharma, Swara Bhaskar, Eijaz Khan, Dipti Mishra, Rajendra Gupta, Navni Parihar

"Bas karo yeh havas ka nanga naach !"

A crackling first half deteriorates quite badly midway through the second…becoming unnecessarily maudlin, sentimental, and ruins the overall message of the film…There is still much to admire in the film, though, especially the situations woven (incl the tantalizing intermission point) and the sizzling dialogue which, in the good old days, would’ve led to a chavanniyon ki baarish every 5 minutes or so !

"Tu dinosaur ki biradri ka hove, ke doosri biradri se shaadi kar lai to extinct ho javega ?"

Kangana and Madhavan break up while settled in the UK. He goes to an asylum there, while she returns to Kanpur. And when, at the instigation of best mate, Deepak Dobriyal, he serves her divorce papers, she decides to revisit her good, old days (and friends), with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub (an illegal tenant in her parents place)…everything is going swimmingly until she meets old flame, Jimmy Shergill once again. And Madhavan meets her doppelganger – a young, Harvanyi spouting girl from Jhajjar, a bob-cut version of Kangana…and then things are never the same again !

"Sex ? Woh to do saal pehle, Bhaiyya Dooj ke din…."

The true hero of the film are the one-liners…mostly delivered via Deepak Dobriyal, who also delivers amongst the best performances of the film. Kangana breathes fire, especially in her hockey wielding, college going avatar – the other one I don’t quite get, who thodi baavli si hai. Zeeshan Ayyub gives a riveting performance in a small but meaty role, while Jimmy Shergill and Rajesh Sharma (has a couple of great scenes) catch the eye despite having miniscule screen time. The whole bit around Swara Bhaskar and her husband (Eijaz) was unnecessary, as was the ‘Komal’ angle and extremely long drawn out final wedding sequence…

"Yeh kya mazaak hai ? Original bhi mera aur duplicate bhi mera ?"

There are some scenes which really stand out…Rajesh Sharma’s speech to his village elders…the non-stop diatribe by Madhavan’s mom (Dipti Mishra) to her husband, the (hold your breath) pony-tailed KK Raina and his final riposte… the ‘dekh, kabootar’ trick…There were also some great messages not too subtly delivered - about self-reliant, independent women, about progress and inter-caste marriage – too bad the end let the tempo drop and kind of diluted it all…still worth a watch, though, and with a peppy soundtrack, not bad as sequels go.

"Aa, tujhe Batman ke saare legend dikhati hoon.."

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Katiyabaaz

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 22nd August, 2014
Time : 84 minutes
Director: Deepti Kakkar, Fahad Mustafa; Writer : Fahad Mustafa;
Documentary



So, this is a documentary. Had walked in thinking it was a movie. It articulates well, a problem faced in many Indian cities, especially in Kanpur, where it is set. Of power theft, loss-making government owned electricity companies, populist politicians determined to milk the situation, get elected, be arrogant, misbehave, sincere bureaucrats (there are a few) trying to improve the system and the titular character, a katiyabaaz, someone who actually makes his living by fiddling the wires to do the theft.

The battle lines are quite clearly drawn. It’s the Katiyabaaz, Loha Singh, Kanpur’s best wire guy vs the Power Supply Corporation, symbolized by its new IAS director, Mrs Ritu Maheshwari vs the Politician, Irfan Solanki, who’s only interested in playing to the gallery of onlookers. Its quite a vicious cycle too – there are few paying customers, so the transformers are of a certain capacity, but thanks to the rampant theft, they burn out, leading to more grief to the irate public, most of whom are non-paying but that doesn’t dampen their belligerence. And then there is the other issue of power supply / generation itself being well short of the demand.

The milieu is well captured, the technique of using interviews interspersed with the events in Kanpur is nicely done. The dangers Loha Singh goes through everytime he climbs a ladder to fix a wire, as do other citizens when wires burn, transformers short circuit, are brought to life nicely. After a while though, you wish the film would move faster, even go somewhere. Its quite repetitive in parts.

Everytime you visit certain parts of UP, especially places like Kanpur, apart from certain malls (and in Lucknow, the grotesque, overpriced parks) it seems like time has stood still… everything looks the same, the same filth, overcrowded lanes, overflowing sewers, the lawlessness and the burgeoning population. And of course the electricity issue. This documentary, in fact, doesn’t get into the powerful generator lobby and their machinations to keep the populace starved of the government supply. In any case, the film paints a dark picture, pun intended, of how things are… and are likely to remain for a very long time !

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