Bajirao Mastani

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 4th December, 2015
Time : 158 minutes
Director & Writer: Sanjay Leela Bhansali (based on the book ‘Rau’ by NS Inamdar); Music : Sanchit Balhara;
Starring : Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Tanvi Azmi, Milind Soman, Vaibbhav Tatwawdi, Mahesh Manjrekar



The film is a visual delight – the sets, the camera angles, the costumes, the look – everything mesmerizes. Sadly, the story itself – a classic tragedy, in line with most of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s other films – fails to excite.

Deepika Padukone, Mastani, a princess from Bundelkhand, half Rajput, half Muslim falls in love with Ranveer Singh. The Peshwa. Especially after he and his army rescue her homeland from Muslim invaders. She falls for him so badly that she arrives as a ‘gift’, unannounced to his home in Pune, despite knowing that he’s married (to Priyanka) and has a kid. The conservative Maratha folk, of course, don’t accept her at all – led by the Peshwa’s mother, a sinister Tanvi Azmi and Vaibbhav (playing his younger brother).

What’s sad about the film is how two strong, fascinating characters – Mastani and Peshwa – are both shown losing their essence as they pursue their mad, crazy, unacceptable love. How a strong-willed, warrior princess becomes a weak supplicant, how a headstrong but wise ruler becomes almost an object of ridicule, not doing right by those who stood by him earlier, including Priyanka.

Deepika is iridescent. Illuminating. Flawless. Looks almost like someone not of this world. Ranveer, especially in the first half, is magnificent- his haughty walk, jerky movements and manner of speaking making his character come alive. Priyanka doesn’t get so much to play with but she does a fantastic job of the screen time she does get. Tanvi’s the show stealer – she’s ominous and exudes malevolence towards Deepika from the moment she sets eyes on her. Milind Soman is a surprise, is very good, as is Vaibbhav. The sets, costumes and colours bedazzle. The songs are good, though too many. And the second half could easily have had a lot of fat trimmed off it. However, special mention of the diction, the way the characters spoke - the lilting Marathi accent - was one of the most engaging aspects of the film.

What’s truly tragic about the story is that (if any part of it is historically true), then we lost two superb persons to petty jealousies, court politics and what is commonly practiced as religion in this country. The saddest part being, of course, that nothing has really changed in our nation.

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Angry Indian Goddesses

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 4th December, 2015
Time : 121 minutes
Director & Writer: Pan Nalin; Music : Cyril Morin;
Starring : Rajshri Deshpande, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Pavleen Gujral, Amrit Maghera, Anushka Manchanda, Sandhya Mridul, Nia Dhime, Anuj Choudhry, Adil Hussain, Arjun Mathur



This one is as much about the journey as the end (which I didn’t quite like). A few angry, frustrated (non-sexually) women get together in Goa and vent, heal, laugh, chat, discover some answers to the challenges life throws towards females in our country before a plot twist changes things fundamentally.

The women are from wildly varied walks of life, despite most having been college mates. Pavleen, the married housewife, who has some of the funniest lines, is a mild, peaceful sort – got married in the flow of things (parents) and feels sometimes that instead of the varmala, she actually put her college gold medal around her husband’s neck, as she didn’t do anything with her talent after that. Anushka is a singer, trying for Bollywood but relegated to doing tours in hotels etc, where she doesn’t exactly encounter the crème de la crème – her music career isn’t really going anywhere and she’s more than a little depressed because of that.

Sandhya Mridul, the fiery one, runs a mining company and has balls of steel – tearing papers up in meetings, firing people left, right and centre. She’s also a single mom and is equally fierce with her young daughter, Nia. We know very little about Tannishtha, apart from the fact that she is an activist and fiercely opposes one of the mining sites that Sandhya’s company is involved with. Sarah-Jane is the one who’s got everyone together at her place in Goa – she’s a photographer who’s chasing her dream and is holding certain cards close to her chest. Amrit, her half-Indian cousin, a British national, is trying to make her career in Bollywood as an actress – sometimes with hilarious effects. And last but not the least, Rajshri is the maid, a bit of a ball crusher (literally) but also has a soft side and a bit of a past which can make her see red very quickly.

You get the usual issues – restrictions on dress, unequal split of chores, marriage, exploitation, Section 377, how the victims of sexual crimes are viewed – and a few new ones. Most of it’s interspersed with giant dollops of humour (the rain dance between the underwear clad Amrit and the sari clad Rajshri, the conservative reactions of Pavleen, including the epic ‘Yaar, tum karte kaise ho ?’, the reaction to the sexy neighbor (Anuj) washing his car, and the frail bai who washes their clothes), which ensures the film rarely has a dull moment, also thanks in part to a great music score.

However, ugly India does intrude into their idyllic vacation, rearing it’s ugly head in paradise – some molesters in the middle of the film and the reactions of Adil Hussain, a cop, towards the end. I don’t think the final plot twist was necessary – it left me with a sour taste. Also, some solutions (the mining debate, the parenting style, the viral video) were all too pat, too easy, a bit contrived. And the last scene in the church is more than a bit filmy, would’ve ended very differently in real life. The performances were very good overall – Amrit, Rajshri and Pavleen especially catching the eye, while Sarah-Jane is quite enchanting in an under-stated role.

It’s well-paced, neatly strung together – moments of emotion, pathos nicely balanced with fun, laughter. Instances of anger mixed up with moments of just being. Quite nice to get the woman’s point of view too – especially since it came via a man (writer, director Pan Nalin).

PS : Rant Coming Up : Here, right from the opening credits you know you’re in for censorship butchery. If it’s an A film, why do any swear words have to be beeped out ? Are all adults in India not exposed to colourful cuss words of all languages ? And what was this whole drama about blanking out the images of Indian gods, goddesses – even in the opening credits – beggars belief ? The frequent cuts really do intrude into the atmosphere created by the film. About time the Board realizes it’s there for certification and not censorship.

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Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 16th October, 2015
Time : 136 minutes
Director, Writer : Luv Ranjan; Co-Writers : Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain; Music : Various;
Starring : Kartik Aaryan, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Nushrat Bharucha, Sonnalli Seygall, Ishita Raj, Manvir Singh, Rumana Molla, Sharat Saxena

Disclaimer : I haven’t seen Part 1, just the video clip of the famous anti-women speech from the film (you can see it here)



Which guy hasn’t suffered at the hands of women? Danced to her whims, coped with her ever-changing mind and struggled in the never-ending battle to win her over and please her ? This, surprisingly good, movie narrates the story of three pairs and some immensely relatable situations…and does it without ever crossing over that fine line…

Kartik, Sunny and Omkar are great friends and room-mates. Each doing well, in their respective jobs, Omkar probably the best of all, and comfortable enough with each other to constantly take each others trip when the occasion demands (or sometime doesn’t even do so). Then they all strike jackpot, in the form of three gorgeous women, at around the same time. Kartik finds Nushrat (cute, bouncy), Sunny (the least predatory, most seedha of the three) finds the svelte Sonnalli (tall, lissome) and Omkar strikes Gold in the gym with Ishita (a gorgeous figure and she knows what to do with it).

Soon, though, and in no particular order, the following situations strike their relationship

An excessive preference for pink, dresses and selfies

Arguments about money – one woman always wants to pay for her half. Or does she ?

The dreaded debate about Facebook status, and then worse, a demand to know her mates password…

The three women not really getting along – sometimes making nasty remarks about the others

One woman is too scared to tell her dad about her relationship, always waiting for the right time, despite knowing the parents are ‘looking’

The entry of a woman’s best friend, a guy (Manvir Singh), who seems uncomfortably close to her

A woman can’t fathom the hisaab between the three mates. But, despite several appeal to not go there, wants to.

One woman listens too much to the advice of her two girl-friends

The cops get called by zealous, protective dad

The way a guy is used for odd jobs, pick up and drops by her and her family
A debate about the guy’s future plans, dreams – his desire to leave his job and set up a website

The refreshing part of the film was the non-judgmental way the women are shown to be very comfortable in their own skins, happy to drink, unabashedly wearing clothes of their choice, having no qualms about pre-marital sex (or if they do, that is not an issue). The guys are also reasonably straight-forward, neither behaving like a macho, khap panchayat or are just stringing the woman along for sex. Everything plays out quite normally, as you’d expect in real life, and is still so funny when presented the way it is. And, thankfully, the film-makers stick to their storyline and don’t clog it with back-stories or too many characters, sub-plots.

I was quite impressed with Omkar from a looks, acting skills perspective. Sunny was also quite good, as were Ishita, Sonnalli. Kartik was a little bit of a weak link – he looks a little sleazy, the chikna next door – and his expressions don’t always hit the right notes. The speech this time wasn’t as funny as the previous one and also didn’t totally relate to the situations in the film. But I loved the way the film ended – a good, gently sarcastic depiction of our men.

With each of the situations shown, you’re going to recall your own predicaments or those of someone you’ve known. The war of the sexes can be quite hilarious to observe. Unless you’re an involved party. And in this war, there really never is a victor…

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The Walk

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 9th October, 2015
Time : 132 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Robert Zemeckis; Co-Writer : Christopher Browne based on the book by Philippe Petit ‘To Reach The Clouds’; Music : Alan Silvestri;
Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, Cesar Domboy, Clement Sibony, Steve Valentine, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Benedict Samuel, Soleyman Pierini



Despite the movie being about a walk on a high-tension steel wire, the movie is strangely flat.

It’s about the daredevil French artiste, Phillipe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who, fascinated by a tightrope walking family during a circus trip when very young, decided he couldn’t do anything else. He basically spends the rest of his time figuring out places where he could hang his wire around Paris. Then gets in touch with Ben Kingsley, the patriarch of the tightrope walking family, to learn his secrets. He continues to search for more dangerous, exciting places to hang his wire…meets his accomplices during his illegal walks in Paris – Charlotte Le Bon, Cesar Domboy, Clement Sibony…and then one day, he sees an illustration of the upcoming World Trade Centre in New York. And he knows that’s it – that’s where he wants to walk…

The rest of the movie takes us through some of the steps, described by Joseph either by flashback or while standing on top of the Statue of Liberty.

As the audience you definitely feel awe for what he accomplished but, strangely, you feel very little of the tension. The tale is narrated in a very matter of fact way. You don’t get a sense of the personalities, the planning – everything is quite drily presented, merely happens. You have to be a little mad to do something like this but the full force of the personality and the emotion doesn’t quite transmit.

Joe lets on in the opening few minutes, that the one question he can’t answer is ‘Why’ – he does it just because… But why would his accomplices support him, as he risks almost certain death in his attempt ? What in them makes them willing partners ? There is a lovely little twist at the end, that redeems the film somewhat and I loved a couple of the lines too – about how walking the tightrope across buildings gave it character, made them more beautiful…

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The Intern

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 25th September, 2015
Time : 121 minutes
Director, Writer : Nancy Meyers; Music : Theodore Shapiro
Starring : Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm, JoJo Kushner, Andrew Rannellls, Adam DeVine, Zack Pearlman, Jason Orley, Christina Scherer



Do we tend to write people off when they are retired ? Are women, who’re heading major companies, treated differently by society versus men ?

This is about a senior citizen, Robert De Niro, at the spry age of 70, taking up a job as an intern in an ecommerce clothing company, and getting assigned to work with Anne Hathaway, who founded and runs the company.

The reason why this is happening, the company is hiring senior citizens (they hire 2 other senior interns) aren’t totally clear but the video that Robert makes, outlining his reasons for wanting to join, makes for compelling viewing.

Anne is also a bit over her head, trying to manage the rapid growth over the past two years, making sure the company stays on track especially with the VCs pushing for more experienced management. She has a notoriously short attention span (her meetings are slotted by her assistant, Christina, for 3 minutes or 5 and the really long ones last 15) and is also trying to manage her work-life balance with her very cute daughter, JoJo, and stay-at-home husband, Anders.

The office has an interesting mix of people – Andrew, Adam, Jason among others – and Zack is the normal intern ie of normal age. Rene Russo is the office masseuse (something like that could get me back to corporate life) and definitely gets Robert’s attention in more ways than one.

In such a scenario, Robert, who’s worked over 40 years before retiring, with his suit / tie / calculator / vintage briefcase, has to figure out ways to be useful and get the attention of his harum-scarum boss…

What I found fascinating is that despite a) Nothing major happening over the course of the film b) Or him He doing anything extraordinary (doesn’t turn into an all kowing superman, yet via conversations, normal day-to-day situations (a driver who plays hooky, a father who falls sick) we experience what it’s like to interact with seniors – their values, thoughts (some old-fashioned), way of working.

It makes us question whether we as a society really do tap into the vast knowledge bank of our retirees, whether we could use them more fruitfully rather than writing them off, being dismissive. Also, looking at Anne’s rise and her family situation, it raises questions re the glass ceiling, how supportive we are of full-time working moms. And as the snide remarks of the school moms, illustrate, whether we’re really ready for the stay-at-home dad scenario ?

I’m not sure I agree with all that was shown – Anne’s need for a father figure was perhaps a bit too convenient, Robert’s rise in her eyes a bit too rapid and by giving her certain frailities (tears, needing company on a business trip to San Francisco) we perhaps are only reinforcing some stereotypes about women at work. But overall, aided by a peppy soundtrack and snappy dialogue, it’s a hugely enjoyable watch.

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ABCD 2

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 19th June, 2015
Time : 154 minutes
Director, Writer : Remo D’Souza; Music : Sachin-Jigar
Starring : Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Lauren Gottlieb, Prabhu Deva, Dharmesh Yelande, Sushant Pujari



Disclaimer : I haven’t seen ABCD – the first film

Some great dance sequences. Some ordinary ones. An over-stretched movie and plot, replete with storm-in-the-teacup kinda conflicts and emotional, melodramatic moments that fail to move you at all

Our heroes from the first one are caught up in a scandal as they copy an international act, move for move, in a local competition. Rapidly becoming the nations biggest punching bag, they seek redemption by going for an international hip-hop dance competition, with the auditions in Bangalore and the finale in Vegas… Along the way, merely after watching him dance once, they decide they must have Prabhu Deva as their choreographer

Varun and Lauren, among the main leads, are excellent on the dance floor. Shraddha is good but not in the same league. Dharmesh Yelande is good too but the one who really catches the eye through his dance moves is a deaf-mute character (though not during a forgettable emotional side-track he is burdened with).

Dance films – Indian or international – suffer from being predictable. This one is no different. The story tries to add a layer of redemption, of national pride (ho-hum, what’s new?) but pays only lip service to either storyline. The whole drama around Prabhu Deva’s back story turns out to be quite laughable. The songs are quite ordinary – nothing to really stick. The choreography, sets are super, though, as are some of the touches of humour. They could’ve dialed down on the melodrama and probably could’ve wrapped up the movie in half hour less, and done away with one or two ‘twists’ of the literal and non-literal kind…

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