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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The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Part 1

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 28th November, 2014
Time : 123 minutes
Director : Francis Lawrence; Writers: Peter Craig, Danny Strong, based on the novel ‘MockingJay’ by Suzanne Collins; Music : James Newton Howard
Starring : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Mahershala Ali, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Dormer



Grim. Slow. Agonizing.

Probably the three words, in that order, which best summarize this film. It lacks the pace, zing of the earlier two installments (Hunger Games & Hunger Games : Catching Fire), misses any key confrontation or action sequences and just seems to meander along (hopefully) setting things up for the next one.

We watch Jennifer Lawrence grudgingly become the face of the revolution, led by Julianne Moore. She becomes the MockingJay, the counterpoint to Josh Hutcherson, who has been kidnapped by the Capitol and now speaks for them. We watch Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as the marketing guru, try to put a glitzy, schmaltzy propaganda campaign together, aided by Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson, who thankfully votes for spontaneity rather than prepared scripts and costumes. We watch Jeffrey Wright, as the tech brains of the movement, try to gatecrash into the Capitol and Mahershala Ali, along with Liam Hemsworth and Natalie Dormer, lead the muscles unit of the revolution. And above all, we watch Donald Sutherland, as the leader of the Capitol, hell-bent on crushing the other districts, toy with the revolution.

Jennifer’s character seems strangely distracted, more preoccupied with personal considerations (Josh, her sister, a cat) rather than the greater objectives of the struggle. The Orwellian setting of the revolution HQ, with the jumpsuits and the underground chambers, along with the strong-willed Julianne Moore as its head, does beg the question whether the Districts are jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

There is very little progress, story-wise, in this edition, and neither do we learn much more about any of the central characters. There is just a dark sense of foreboding throughout, with somber music to match, that doesn’t make for and enjoyable watch

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