Film Review: DIL DHADAKNE DO

I am going with 6 stars for Dil Dhadakne Do!

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah, Anushka Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose
Director: Zoya Akhtar

We wanted to go to this film as a family together and finally managed the 11 pm show last night at PVR Sion. The theatre was completely packed.

THE STORY

Kamal and Neelam Mehra are keen to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. A self-made Delhi businessman, Kamal’s company AyKa is facing problems. And their marriage is not what it appears to be. They had their daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) married off when she was 21 to Manav (Rahul Bose), a businessman from Mumbai. Ayesha sets up her own travel agency and is extremely successful. Kabir (Ranveer Singh) is the Mehras’ son who’s more interested in flying than in the family business.

The Mehras organise a cruise and invite their relatives and friends for a 2-week trip to Greece and Turkey. That’s where they plan to get Kabir’s marriage fixed to the Sood heir Noorie (Ridhima Sud), hoping that her father (Parmeet Sethi) would finance their business in return. But is Kabir or Noorie interested? What happens when Ayesha wants to divorce Manav? Watch the film to find out more.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is 2 hours 50 minutes long. It’s been a few years since I watched such a long movie. But I really don’t know where the time flew as the story kept me hooked from beginning till end. I was actually sorry when the film ended. It was a simple family drama with a bit of romance thrown in.

Anil Kapoor was perfect in his role as Kamal Mehra – a shrewd, self-made businessman; fitness freak and flirt. He has always been a good actor and this is probably his best performance.

Ranveer Singh brings a lot of energy to his roles. This one was no less and he was impressive as the Mehra heir and Ayesha’s younger brother.

Anushka Sharma was also good as dancer Farah who is Kabir’s love interest.

Farhan Akhtar has a small role that he has performed extremely well.

Rahul Bose’s character was completely irritating and he fit the bill to perfection.

Priyanka Chopra was amazing as Ayesha. Her eyes spoke volumes in the scene when she silently watches her brother telling their parents off for their self-centredness. The way she quietly puts up with the attitudes of her parents and mother-in-law while becoming a truly successful businesswoman is beautifully portrayed. A special kudos!

The cruise was lovely, the music perfect, the cinematography beautiful while all the other actors did their parts very well. The directing and editing have been done to perfection.

Aamir Khan narrates the film in the background as the voice of Pluto, the Mehra family dog. It was a cute and novel way of presenting the story. I liked it!

I have saved the best for the last. Shefali Shah – I have been to her reading of the book Gandhi, My Father before the release of the film by the same name. She was present at the book reading at Oxford Book House, Churchgate along with Akshaye Khanna and Gandhiji’s grandson Tushar Gandhi. Shefali Shah played the role of Kasturba in the film. I was too impressed by her reading a few pages from the book. I think she’s a very good actor.

But in Dil Dhadakne Do, her performance as Neelam was exemplary. The way she portrays high-society arrogance, her sarcasm towards her husband, her affection for her son, her frustration, her overeating nature because of the unhappy life she leads – I can go on and on. Shefali Shah deserves First Prize in this film.

Special congratulations to Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar for conceptualising such a wonderful film!

VERDICT: I am going with 6 stars for Dil Dhadakne Do while 5 stars have been the maximum I give my film reviews. Need I say more?

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super
******Super-duper

Film Review: PK

#PK touched my heart

Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt, Sushant Singh Rajput, Saurabh Shukla, Boman Irani, Parikshit Sahani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani

I was a trifle hesitant to go see the movie in the theatre after watching the promos for PK. Aamir Khan with wide open eyes that forgot to blink kind of put me off. But then the film is by Rajkumar Hirani. I loved Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai & 3 Idiots. As I was oscillating, unable to decide whether ‘to see or not to see’, Venkat told me that Aamir Khan plays an alien in the film. That clinched the deal. I had to see the film. That’s how Venkat, Viggy and I landed up at Cinemax Sion for a 11 o’clock show on Saturday night. 

THE STORY

PK (Aamir Khan) travels through space from a distant galaxy and lands on the deserts of Rajasthan, buck naked. The only thing he’s wearing is a neckpiece, a brilliant green medal that’s actually a remote control that will help him recall his spaceship when he needs to go back home. Within a few minutes of landing, a local steals his neckpiece and PK (not named yet) is stranded on earth.

Jagat Janani aka Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) is studying in Belgium and that’s where she meets Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput), a Pakistani. They fall in love and move in together. When she tells her parents about her love, her father (Parikshit Sahani) insists on consulting the family astrologer-advisor Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla). The Maharaj plays on people’s fears and insists that he has a direct dialogue with the Creator. His prediction that Sarfaraz will ditch Jaggu comes true when he stands her up on their wedding day. 

Jaggu is refused entry into her home when she returns to Delhi. She lives by herself and works for a TV channel. Hunting for stories, she meets PK who fascinates her. But is he what he is claiming he is? 

MY PERCEPTION

Rajkumar Hirani has done it again. Instead of going the Hollywood way and presenting aliens as horrible, negative creatures, he has presented PK as a Highly Evolved Being. A special Kudos for that to the director!

The story goes back and forth connecting the incidents that lead to a meeting between Jaggu and PK. While the first half is totally hilarious, there were times that I shed a few tears for the wonderful soul who is visiting the earth and is caught up in our quarrels and dishonesty. The character of PK is built beautifully and Aamir Khan has given an outstanding performance. 

Anushka Sharma has always been an excellent actress and I must say that this is her best so far. Congratulations!

Sushant Singh Rajput has done very well in his cameo as Sarfaraz. While Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt and Parikshit Sahani have small roles, they were important enough to keep the story going. Good show guys!

Saurabh Shukla as the mean and cheating Tapasvi Maharaj has given a super performance. Shukla has been seen in a variety of character roles and he has been consistently great in each performance. Awesome! 

The music was soothing. This is typical of Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions and I find it a loveable trait. Though I heard most of the songs for the first time, both the lyrics and tune were too good and added to the film’s value.

One thing that struck me was that some of the dialogues overlapped with those in OMG Oh My God! I agree that both films promote similar messages. I only wish that they had checked things out and stretched that little bit extra to make it completely different. It doesn’t take away from PK being a great film though.  

I like a creative work – both books and films – that makes me emote. Whether it’s joy, love, anger or vengeance, it should touch my heart. PK did that to me. Need I say more?

VERDICT: A Must-see

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Film Review: LADIES vs RICKY BAHL

A light romance that was fun from the way go with excellent casting

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Dippanita Sharma, Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Sharma
Director: Maneesh Sharma

It’s been over a week since the film’s release. We had been wondering whether to watch it or not. Last night, Venkat and I decided to go to the film at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY: Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh) goes under various aliases. He has only one purpose – to con young women into parting with their cash. He does not cheat them into physical relationships or any such thing. Ricky studies his targets thoroughly before jumping into the fray. He flatters them and manages to loot them. As Sunny, he becomes Dimple’s (Parineeti Chopra) boyfriend, impresses her parents and loots 20 lakh. He sells a fake MF Hussain painting to Raina’s (Dipannita Sharma) company for a crore and twenty lakh. But what he had not foreseen was Raina’s aggressive nature. She sets out to get in touch with the other women he has cheated and sets up a plan. That’s when the young widow Saira (Aditi Sharma) joins the group. She had been cheated of 10 lakh rupees by Iqbal, another alias of Ricky. Raina, Dimple and Saira get together and hire Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) to con Ricky Bahl ala Not-a-Penny-More-Not-a-Penny-Less-style. Watch the film to see how far they succeed.

MY PERCEPTION: The film ran for approximately two hours and was well scripted, directed and edited. The only fault I could find there was the songs that keep cropping up mid-way. But I suppose one has to learn to live with them in Bollywood.

Dipannita Sharma has come a very long way since December 16. She has quite a chunky role in this film and she has performed quite well. With her height, I would presume that Dipannita must be a model. But she has terrible dress sense. The first few scenes were good. Later, at Goa, she was dressed horribly in every single scene.

Aditi Sharma as Saira was excellent. She probably will never make a heroine, but she looked very cute and acted very well.

Of these three women, the first prize goes to Parineeti Chopra as Dimple Chaddha. She was just too good as an irritating Punjabi, rich, spoilt brat. She acted extremely well and her dialogue delivery was just perfect.

Anushka Sharma looked gorgeous and acted very well too. Her on-screen chemistry with Ranveer Singh was superb. Her eyes are too expressive and her dressing sense gets better and better. Keep up the great work, Anushka!

Ranveer Singh was very good in his first film, Band Baaja Baaraat. In this, he is even more polished. He has walked through his role casually and done a fabulous job. Kudos!

I congratulate Yash Raj Films for bringing forth yet another light romance with excellent casting that I thoroughly enjoyed!

VERDICT: You should watch it if you are a fan of Ranveer Singh or Anushka Sharma and especially if you are fond of romances. A light movie!

RATING: *** Smart

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Film Review: BAND BAAJA BAARAAT

Cast: Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh
Story & Direction: Maneesh Sharma
Rating: ***** Super

This film is from the YRF banner and comes after continuous flops turned out by the film house.

The Story: Shruti (Anushka Sharma) lives in Delhi and is very clear about her aim in life. She wants to become the best wedding planner in the country. She has all her plans made and is keen to undergo the necessary training and experience. Bittoo is a college student who is studying only to escape farming beside his father in his village. He is not at all keen to get back to his village and meeting Shruti brings about a turn in his life. He cajoles her into taking him on as a partner in her wedding plan venture. The two set out at first to train under the best wedding planner in town. But they are disappointed to find that the woman never delivers what she promises. That’s when the two set up ‘Shaadi Mubarak’, a small-time venture. Soon, this gets quite big and popular.

In the beginning of the partnership, Shruti insists that their relationship will never go beyond friendship and that was the only way to keep the business partnership going. Bittoo takes her word as gospel and keeps a friendly relationship. But soon, the equation changes for Shruti when she falls in love with him. Unable to tell him the truth and quite disgusted when he insists that their relationship should not cross the friendship line, she picks a fight with him and they break up. The business falls apart and neither is able to survive in the market working alone.

Watch the film to see how the rift is patched up finally and Shaadi Mubarak returns to its former glory.

My Perception: The movie was very good. Anushka has three hits to her name – Rab Ne Banadi Jodi; Badmaa$h Company and now this one. Each one has a different role that required varying nuances. And believe me, this actress has delivered. She had done a superb job of playing Shruti – fun, emotion, attitude, you name it, she portrays it. Kudos!

Newcomer Ranveer Singh was nothing short of excellent. His casual manner, small town attitude, dialogue delivery, simple behaviour of Bittoo – everything comes naturally. The man could dance his way through the movie. He was just too good. Keep up the great work, Dude!

Music by Salim-Suleiman, choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya were just perfect. The story by Maneesh Sharma was quite uncomplicated and portrayed a simple set of situations typical to India and especially Delhi. It was the way he had handled the picturisation that was par excellence. The presentation was simply superb!

YRF is back with a bang it seems. If they delivered DDLJ all those years ago, they have proved that BBB is a pretty close contender. While it can never squeeze your hearts with emotion the way DDLJ did and still does, it is the next best and suits the modern generation just perfectly.

Verdict: Double Thumbs Up!

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Film Review: BADMAA$H COMPANY

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das, Melyang Chang, Anupam Kher, Kiran Juneja
Director: Parmeet Sethi

The Story: Set in the 1990s, Karan is a 21-year-old genius who has just completed his degree exams along with his best friends Chandu (Vir Das) and Zing (Melyang Chang). The three guys want to make money and go to a guy who deals in imported goods. They act as his ‘Carriers’ and get to see Bangkok at his expense while making a small packet for themselves. They meet Bulbul (Anushka Sharma) on their first trip and the four become great friends. While Karan’s father (Anupam Kher) wants him to do his MBA, Karan is not interested in further studies. All he is interested in is making fast bucks – in a straight or crooked way – he does not care. And make money he does with his maternal uncle’s help. His disgusted father shows Karan the door. Not that it stops the young man. The four of them land in America and continue to pull the wool over the eyes of the law. But after a point, the other three want to call it quits. But Karan wants to go on. The clash of personalities and what happens to them in the long run forms the rest of the plot.

My perception: A mediocre plot and colourful cinematography. Anushka Sharma looks gorgeous and the film has been shot on wonderful locations, but all seen before. Shahid Kapoor has done a good job, but nothing exceptional. Chang and Vir Das have done their roles very well considering that the film is their first. Between the two, my vote goes to Chang.

With Vir Das on board, I did expect to fall off my seat laughing, but alas, nothing close to it. I think Bollywood scriptwriters don’t know how to inculcate comedy in their films. They seriously need to look southwards for this one.

What is wrong with the film? An average story presented in a very ordinary fashion. Nothing grips you about the film – no shocking twists, no earth-shaking climax – just a flow from A to B to C.

I think WE, the audience, have come to expect way more than this.

Verdict: It will soon show up on TV. Watch it then. It is worth a see.

Rating: ** Shaky

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super