Film Review: EK VILLAIN

This one is not for the weak-hearted

Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, Aamna Sharif, Shaad Randhawa 
Director: Mohit Suri

This film has been out for a couple of weeks and I have been considering it with a kind of morbid fascination. I was keen to watch the cast - Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor - while I was aware that the movie might be too violent for my taste. When Vinny and I were going around town on Sunday, we decided to catch the evening show of Ek Villain at Sterling on impulse.

THE STORY

Aisha (Shraddha Kapoor) goes to deliver an idol of Ganesha that her father’s made and returns home. She’s on the phone with Guru (Sidharth Malhotra) when a stranger enters her home and murders her. 

Guru used to be a paid assassin in Caesar’s (Remo Fernandes) employ. He changes after meeting Aisha. CBI Officer Aditya (Shaad Randhawa of Aashiqui 2 fame) is worried that Guru will burn the town and go on a rampage to find the killer. He guides him towards Caesar who has nothing to do with the murder. 

A serial killer is on the loose and he’s killing random women with a screwdriver. Why would he do that? Watch the film to find out. And will Guru find his wife’s murderer? At what cost?

MY PERCEPTION

The film was extremely violent and not my cup of tea. That said, I have to mention that it was very well made. 

Sidharth was nothing short of brilliant in his role as an assassin turned good guy and back to a vengeful streak. He looks great and acts better. Kudos!

I was shocked to see Shraddha Kapoor as Aisha after watching her as the heroine of Aashiqui 2. She was horrible in the first half, overdoing her role and quite irritating with a stupid grin on her face. She tones down in the latter half and is more acceptable. You need to watch yourself on the big screen more often Shraddha Kapoor and check out what works for you and what does not. There’s a whole lot of room to improve.

Riteish Deshmukh was superb playing the title role. His expressions say it all – the hurt, anger, frustration and love for his wife. Keep up the great work!

The film has a good script, well directed and edited while the cast play their roles to perfection. 

VERDICT: It’s a must see if you are up to seeing some violent action.

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

Film Review: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA!

The dialogues were sharp, smart and interesting!

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonali Bendre Behl, Mahesh Manjrekar, Bala Manian
Director: Milan Luthria
Writer: Rajat Arora

I have not seen the first one starring Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi as I am not too keen on action films. As this time Akshay Kumar had promised that ‘it is personal’ and after the Chennai Express fiasco, I decided ‘what the hell!’ and went to see the movie along with Venkat and Vini on August 15 itself. I am glad that I did!

THE STORY

Set in the 1990s, Shoaib (Akshay Kumar) is a ruthless gangster who would do just anything to have his way, whether for money or women. Shoaib meets Aslam, a street smart kid and takes him under his wing. Twelve years later, Shoaib, who had been in the Middle East, returns to Bombay to kill his rival Rawal (Mahesh Manjrekar). Aslam (Imran Khan) is now a young man who is totally loyal to Shoaib. Jasmine (Sonakshi Sinha) has recently moved to Bombay from Kashmir and is trying to become a film heroine. She meets Aslam and soon the two are attracted to each other. In the meanwhile, Jasmine meets Shoaib and he falls for her innocence. She gets a chance as heroine in a film that Shoaib backs. Watch the film to see who gets Jasmine – Shoaib or Aslam.

MY PERCEPTION

I am a sucker for romance and so the film worked for me. The best thing about the film were the dialogues. They were sharp, smart and interesting. Congratulations to Rajat Arora for the same. I so wished that my grasp of Hindi was better than what it is so that I could have appreciated it better. I will probably catch the film again on TV just for that.

The music was good and so were the songs. I especially enjoyed the sequence, “Tayeb Ali Pyar ka Dushman…” The scene was also very well made.

Akshay Kumar has been improving with age. That is probably because he is choosing good roles. I have seen a consistent improvement with Oh My God!, Special 26 and now Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! In this film, the actor plays the negative role of a cold-blooded gangster. And he has enacted the part perfectly – with a chilling smile on his face and cold-blooded to the hilt. Good one, Akshay Kumar!

Sonakshi Sinha is excellent as Jasmine. She has a very expressive face and she has used it well to portray different emotions. Her dialogue delivery is just perfect.

Imran Khan! Well, I am never confident that the actor will perform in every film. He was superb in Jaane Tu… Yaa Jaane Na, Meri Brother Ki Dulhan, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Delhi Belly and I Hate Luv Storys. In contrast, Imran Khan was terrible in Luck, Kidnap, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola  and Break ke Baad.

But Imran Khan was simply superb in this movie as Aslam, Shoaib’s protégée. He has a chunky role and he has delivered. Kudos! Hope to see more of great acting from Imran Khan in the future.

I have to mention here that the role of Vardhan was played by Bala Manian who is my maternal uncle. He is my mother’s youngest brother. He also goes by the screen name of R. Balasubramanian (Monsoon Shootout – Click here to read review of the film). Balu, as we call him, has been acting since many years and has acted in Tamil and Hindi films as well as in TV serials. He was very good as Vardhan in Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! Even if it was just the one scene, he has a few dialogues in it. Congratulations Balu!

Two other really good things were that the film was not too long and the fight sequences were also relatively short.  

VERDICT: I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

RATING: ***1/2 (Better than smart)

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