Film Review: PARAM SUNDARI

Pic Courtesy: https://bollywoodtown.in/

WHO, ESPECIALLY IN THIS MILLINEUM, WANTS TO SEE A COUPLE OF FAILURES FALL IN LOVE AND GET MARRIED?

When I saw the Instagram post about the release of PARAM SUNDARI, a romance film, I was eager to see it on the big screen. Well, who can blame me as Bollywood seems to be starved of romantic films, what with the rising violence in the films released in the past few years. 

I think the last really enjoyable movie I saw was Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, which was a little more than two years back.

Okay, getting back to Param Sundari, Venkat agreed to accompany me to the film on Thursday only to give me a mocking smile when he saw there were barely a dozen people in the multiplex theatre. He does not mind the violent films, but I have always refused to accompany him, at least most of the time. And now it was payback time, I suppose. I couldn’t blame him as the “romantic” film let me down very badly. 

What is romance? Well, I am a romance novelist with about 60 books to my name in that genre, and while I might not be an expert, I profess to understand it way more than the screenwriter/storyteller of Param Sundari.

Romance is not only about the love between a man and a woman. It also needs to show what makes the protagonists a hero and a heroine, which is where this story fails.

Both Sidharth and Janhvi are pure eye candy and they can also act. The film is set in a small town in Kerala which has been beautifully portrayed along with their traditions and rituals. 

But are these elements enough to justify the “romance” tag for this film? Or any other tag for that matter? 

I THINK NOT!

Param is a “hero” who wants to work on his physical body (which is not bad at all as this is also important), but does not want to do a honest day's job. He is into running online businesses which fail again and again, much to his father’s anger and frustration. Well, I cannot really blame the father played by Sanjay Kapoor, though his screen presence and dialogue could not have been more irritating to the audience.

Sundari is a “heroine” who runs a home stay which had been left to her by her parents who had died in an accident. She goes against her aspirations of becoming a mohini attam dancer and is damn sad about it. 

What would have made them both “hero” material was if they had become successful in their careers, making them true protagonists. This is called a “growth curve” in building the characters, especially the main ones.

And this is exactly where the writer, director and producer have failed in this film. 

Who, especially in this millineum, wants to see a couple of failures fall in love and get married?

I rest my case.

VERDICT: It was a wonder I could sit in the theatre until the end. 

RATING: ** Shaky

* Silly

** Shaky

*** Smart

**** Snazzy

***** Super

Film Review: THE ARCHIES

 THE ARCHIES

Image Courtesy: https://www.koimoi.com/

Cast: Agastya Nanda (Archie Andrews), Vedang Raina (Reggie Mantle), Suhana Khan (Veronica Lodge), Khushi Kapoor (Betty Cooper), Mihir Ahuja (Jughead Jones), Aditi Dot (Ethel), Yuvraj Menda (Dilton Doiley), Alyy Khan (Mr. Lodge)

The Story:

The story is set in 1964 and is based on the world-famous characters from Archie Comics which were published as an extremely popular series from the year 1942 to 2015, with more than 650 issues.

In this Bollywood film by Zoya Akhtar, Archie and his gang of friends live in Riverdale, which is set in India (instead of the US of A). This town is populated by Anglo Indians who have chosen to remain back in India after the country’s independence from British Raj. The movie revolves around Green Park, a large green sector with lush gardens and age-old trees which is in the centre of the town. 

They are all seventeen years old and finishing school, each one thinking about his/her future. Archie, who plans to go to London for higher studies, is a confused teen who isn’t sure who he loves more—Betty or Ronnie. 

Reggie is keen to join the local newspaper where his father is the chief editor. Jughead, who is fond of food more than anything else, works at Pop Tate’s, a food joint. Ethel who crushes on Jughead, who in turn refuses to be aware of her, works at a beauty salon as a hairstylist.

Veronica (Ronnie) has just now returned from spending two years in London and is excited to be back with her friends. Dilton is a super-intelligent nerd who has invented his own version of the radio. 

Mr. Lodge (Ronnie’s millionaire father) is keen to build a hotel in the centre of Riverdale, which will involve destroying most of the green cover. 

The rest is all about how the teenagers manage to save the day.

My Perception:

Let me be upfront here: It took me a while to get my teeth into the film. To begin with, we are living in the space age, while The Archies is set in a 1964 small town. The pace is gentle while song and dance break out in every other scene.

The only musical I have watched is “Sound of Music” which was probably five decades ago. So, yes, I took some time to acclimatise myself to the pace of the film. But once I got into it (around the halfway mark), I fell in love with The Archies, the characters, the actors, the song and dance, just about everything. 

It was so refreshing and innocent. And was it a joy to watch a movie where I did not see one drop of blood!!!!!!! Which needed to be mentioned here as every single movie which has been released recently is full of blood and gore; rifles and swords. Ugh! 

I watched The Archies twice and only fell more in love with it the second time. Agastya Nanda as the confused 17-year-old Archie, was exceptional; as was Vedang Raina as Reggie. And by the way, Vedang sings too. 

Khushi, Sridevi’s daughter, appears as if the veteran actress has come to life. And as Betty, her acting was as good as her mother’s. As for Suhana, SRK’s daughter, she is not only gorgeous, and charming like her famous father, but has acted so well too. 

Mihir Ahuja as Jughead Jones, Aditi Dot (another wonderful singer) as Ethel, Yuvraj Menda as Dilton Doiley, were equally brilliant. The casting was bang on, especially Alyy Khan as Mr. Lodge (minus the specs).

Kudos to Zoya Akhtar for this beautiful and heart-touching movie which brought back a load of childhood memories to life!

VERDICT: A must watch if you like sweet movies with a lot of song and dance; especially one without gore and blood—which I sincerely believe is the need of the hour. 

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

Film Review: PONNIYIN SELVAN 1

Pic Courtesy: https://www.ottplay.com/

I recall the time when Ponniyin Selvan, written by Kalki (Kalki Krishnamurthi) used to be published as a weekly series in the magazine Kalki, sometime in my teens. This was the second round that the novel was being published. I tried reading it, but stopped after the first few chapters for whatever reasons. I have tried taking it up again a couple of times, but failed. 

When I heard that it was being made into a movie (2 movies), I was too damn thrilled. I thought that finally I would know what the story was all about.  

My husband and I have been following a lot of pre-release videos on YouTube and Sunnext platforms regarding Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus. What’s even better is that AR Rahman has created the music for this movie and he has outperformed himself. 

Yesterday was my birthday and I was truly excited that my husband and I could watch the film at Carnival Cinemas, Wadala.

What do I think of the movie?

POSITIVES:

1. It has a stellar star cast: Prabhu, Prakashraj, Sarathkumar, Parthiban, Jayaram, Nassar, Nizhalgal Ravi, Mohan Raman, Jayachithra, Rahman and a few others from the older generation. While the younger generation include Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha Krishnan, Vikram Prabhu, Aishwarya Lekshmi and more. Most importantly, each one has played his/her role to absolute perfection. I think Mr Mani Ratnam deserves a standing ovation for this, definitely.

2. Music by AR Rahman is to die for; absolutely refreshing and different from what he has delivered before now.

3. Cinematography: Aah!!!!! Amazing, Awesome, Splendid! I am simply running out of adjectives here. Fantabulous!

4. The sequences, background, scenes, dialogue: Magnificent!

5. The novel runs to about 2200 pages. Has the scriptwriter/director done justice to it? Absolutely, yes. The film is crisp, concise, and hits the nail on its head. 

6. Vikram was stupendous as Aditha Karikalan. Karthi mesmerizes the audience as Vandiyathevan. Trisha appears and behaves as the true royal she is as Kundavai. As for Aishwarya Rai, she makes for a beautiful, but wicked Nandini with a lot of plans. Jayam Ravi is excellent as Ponniyin Selvan (to become Rajaraja Cholan in the future). The rest of the cast have all done superbly well too. 

NEGATIVES:

1. The songs from the film are all out there on YouTube, while the movie does not give us everything. Disappointed? Yes, I was. Especially, when the “yele yelelo” song was cut short. The scene, portraying Aishwarya Lekshmi (what little they showed on YT) was so damn sensuous. It was really cruel of the editor to chop off the best chunk of it is what I feel.

2. As a viewer/movie buff, I need to feel connected to the characters. Usually, it’s the one character or maybe two. Rarely do I feel connected to a 3rd one. This is where I am not sure how the audience will receive this film. I wanted to connected to Vandiyathevan (Karthi), but he was there in barely 10% of the film. Vikram as both the war lord and the emotional lover was superb. But there was so little of him in the movie. I can go on and on, but well, the first part of the magnum opus ran for 2 hours 47 minutes and there is only so much one could pack in it, I presume. But that still doesn’t make me want more of it!

IN CONCLUSION:

I will not compare this film to Bahubali, but to the Harry Potter series. Let me tell you why. Bahubali was scripted to be made into a movie (or 2). Whereas, HP was written as a series of books to begin with. The smartest thing Hollywood did was to make 8 films out of the 7 books. Even then, the fans of the book series felt cheated to some extent. Despite all the opinions running amok, the films were superhits. I loved each one of them too!

This is where I see the flaw in PS 1. Five large books comprised into two films. It seems hurried, with the characters were not given enough opportunity to perform. It’s a wonder that such big names agreed to be a party to this one. But then, that’s probably the magic of Mani Ratnam.

I will go with 4 stars instead of 5 for this. Yes, I will watch it at least once more on the big screen. And will definitely catch it half a dozen more times on Amazon Prime. It offers a lot of rich research material for the historical romance story teller in me. 

VERDICT: If you are a movie buff and enjoy historical fiction, especially with most of the characters who had actually lived in India’s history, you should definitely watch this one.  

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: TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS

If you want to see the film for its performances, leave your brain behind at home! 

Cast: Kangana Ranaut, R. Madhavan, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Director: Anand L. Rai

I had missed watching Tanu Weds Manu in 2011. I so wanted to see it but no one else showed interest; while the film left the theatres too soon. When Tanu Weds Manu Returns was announced, I decided to watch the first one online and did just that. It’s very well made and I decided to catch the sequel despite mixed reactions from the public.

THE STORY

Tanu (Kangana Ranaut) and Manu (R. Madhavan) have been married for four years and they are facing marital trouble. After a visit to a marriage counsellor, Manu lands up in a mental asylum. Tanu ups and leaves London to go back to her mother’s home in Kanpur. She gets back to flirting with her old boyfriends.

Chintu (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) has taken Tanu’s old room on rent. He is on his way to becoming a lawyer and has been living there without paying rent for many months. Tanu finds him a useful buddy – to drink with and to offer transport around town on his two-wheeler.

In the meanwhile, at Tanu’s instigation, Manu’s best friend Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) goes to London to rescue his friend from the mental asylum. Manu decides to file for divorce. What happens when he sees Datto (Kangana Ranaut), an exact replica of Tanu, and gets attracted to her? Then there is Raja Awasthi (Jimmy Shergill), the local goonda. This time round, he is engaged to Datto. Will he let this fiancée go as easily as he did the first one?

MY PERCEPTION

Kangana has performed brilliantly as both Tanu and Datto. R. Madhavan makes a perfect partner in his inimitable style.

Deepak Dobriyal as Pappi has a chunky role and was excellent – very natural. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub has been consistently good in many films. I have seen his performances in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Raanjhanaa and both were really good. He’s splendid in this film too. Swara Bhaskar is also good.

Having done away with the good parts, let me get to why the film is so bad:

The producer and director have tried to ride on Kangana Ranaut’s popularity and created a faltu film that makes no sense. To begin with, why would a marriage counsellor sit like a judge; speak Hindi; in a mental asylum of all places; that too in London? How the hell did the director miss this glaring error? If a guy is unable to adjust in his marriage of four years, on what basis would they declare him mentally unstable? And over and above that the psychiatrist-counsellor-whatever addresses Manu as Mr. Sharma. Isn’t Manu Sharma a doctor? Amazing!

Manu Sharma is 40. He fell in love with Tanu four years back for the very qualities (or so it seemed) that she has now. Fair enough that “familiarity breeds contempt” and their marriage is falling apart. Fair enough that he wants to divorce her. But, a big BUT here, what the hell does he see in Datto? She’s half his age, going to university on sports quota, is from a small village, and looks ugly. How can a suave, 40-year-old married doctor from London fall for her? And is he in love or in lust or what the hell? I couldn’t understand the logic.

It’s Tanu’s character that stays true to form. She is exactly what she is. And Manu had bloody well accept that. Jimmy Shergill has been wasted. Even his character has no zing, his being a goonda and all that.

And where does that moral lecture by Datto’s brother (Rajesh Sharma) fit in? Datto’s father treats her badly because she’s a girl-child. But that sudden lecture, out of the blue, grates. The villagers stand around doing nothing. I thought our film-makers have moved way beyond that.

Then the “saat phere” – Manu is determined to get married to Datto till the end. Why? How? I can understand his wanting to divorce Tanu. But why this desperation to tie the knot? It doesn’t fit with Manu’s character at all.

Then there is the episode of bride-kidnapping. She says she’s not interested in Pappi. He thinks he knows better and kidnaps her. What happens to her otherwise? Were the director and editor sleeping?

VERDICT: If you can leave your brain at home and watch the film for some of the actors’ performances, then maybe you should watch it.

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

Film Review: O KADHAL KANMANI (ஓ காதல் கண்மணி)

If you like romances, you should not miss this one! 

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen, Prakash Raj, Leela Samson
Director: Mani Ratnam

The Film

Aditya aka Adi (Dulquer Salmaan) arrives in Mumbai to take a new job in a computer games company. His dream is to move to the USA and earn in dollars. He’s from a middleclass family and has been brought up by his elder brother. Adi moves into Ganapathy’s (Prakash Raj) home in Girgaum as a paying guest. Ganapathy lives with his wife Bhavani (Leela Samson) who suffers from Alzheimer’s.

Adi attends a friend’s wedding where he meets Tara (Nithya Menen). Tara lives in a ladies’ hostel and works for a private company. The two get along like a house on fire and realise that neither of them believes in marriage. They decide to get into a live-in relationship. Ganapathy is conservative and refuses at first to allow Tara to move into Adi’s quarters. But soon, the young couple manage to persuade him.

The story goes on to show the relationship between not just Adi and Tara but also their equation with the older Ganapathy and Bhavani. But can Adi and Tara continue with their live-in relationship? She has a mother who is rich and powerful and wants her daughter under her thumb; while he has a brother, sister-in-law and a school-going niece. Will they accept them for what they are? And what will happen if Adi moves to the US at the first opportunity?

My Perception

Mani Ratnam has directed a number of films over the past few decades. While most of them were successful, there were a few duds too. One can never be sure what to expect from his films. I like his film Guru the most. So, when O Kadhal Kanmani (also known as OK Kanmani) was released, I didn’t show too much interest in seeing it – until my neighbour and friend told me that it’s a light and breezy romance. That’s when Venkat and I decided to see the film. I was surprised to see the number of North Indians in the theatre. Luckily, the film had subtitles making it easy for them to understand what was happening.

Dulquer Salmaan (Actor Mammooty’s son) is a well-known star in the Malayalam film industry I believe. He looks handsome and he can act too. His role as Adi was a walk through and couldn’t have been more naturally portrayed. Kudos!

Nithya Menen as Tara is too cute for words. She’s another actress who’s as natural as can be. She has acted in a lot of films in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. Nithya’s perfect as Tara – as the daughter who’s doing her best to be independent of her dominating mother; as a career woman; as a lover; as a caring person who has befriended an Alzheimer’s patient and her husband. Congrats!

Leela Samson plays the role of Ganapathy’s wife Bhavani who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. This film is her debut. She’s simply awesome as the lovely woman who adores her husband; confused when she keeps forgetting things. Excellent role play!

I have saved the best for the last. Prakash Raj – I have seen him in so many different roles over the years – as a villain, as character actor, as a father, as an uncle and even as a God. He is a born actor. As Ganapathy, he is a strict disciplinarian when he takes Adi in as his paying guest. But you can see him thinking from his heart when the young man is able to swing him with his arguments. His love for his wife of more than four decades is commendable and it shows in every gesture of his. Amazing performance indeed!

The storyline is pretty simple and presented in an uncomplicated fashion. Yeah, as someone mentioned on facebook, there is no conflict. So what? O Kadhal Kanmani was a joy to watch with beautiful music and songs that don’t distract you from the flow of the film. The songs –lyrics by Vairamuthu and music by AR Rahman – were all lovely and pleasing on the ears.  Running for 2 hrs and 18 minutes, the film was a breeze.

VERDICT: It’s a must watch you are fond of romances.

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

Film Review: AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Google Images: Artificial Intelligence Vision (Paul Bettany)

The film is rife with action from beginning till end

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård. James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Joss Whedon

I saw this movie 15-20 days ago. With A-Z April Challenge 2015 in full swing, I got to blog the review only now.

The Film

The Avengers go in search of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) who has Loki’s sceptre. He’s been experimenting with it, the results being twins Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) who have acquired superhuman skills. While Pietro moves faster than lightning, Wanda can manipulate minds. The twins hate Tony Stark, convinced that it was his bomb that had killed their family. Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downy Jr.) manages to retrieve the sceptre.

Tony and Bruce Banner aka Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) find out that the sceptre’s gem contains artificial intelligence. They decide to use it to complete Tony’s Ultron programme – without consulting the other Avengers. Inadvertently, they create a terrible danger to the very existence of the Earth. Ultron, the AI created by them, believes that wiping out humanity is the only way to save the earth. The first thing Ultron does is destroy JARVIS, the artificial intelligence that Tony had created before. Jarvis used to guide Tony in a number of his activities.

When Ultron goes on a rampage, will the Avengers be able to save the Earth?

My Perception

I have developed a taste for sci-fi and enjoy watching films on extra-terrestrials. That’s how I landed up seeing The Avengers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

While Avengers 2 is a superbly made film, I found the non-stop action tiring. It was fight and death from beginning till end. Of course, all the actors have performed very well. But still it was tough to swallow with the amount of dust flying around from the constant battles. A little bit of quiet is shown at Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Runner) safe-house, while the feeling of sitting on a time bomb refuses to leave the viewer.

What I really liked was the new Avenger who’s born amidst the older ones – an artificial intelligence with super powers – going by the name of Vision (Paul Bettany). Vision is what becomes of Jarvis when he comes up against Ultron. Vision is like the calm oasis in the middle of a desert, giving the Avengers hope while fighting Ultron, immediately connecting with the audience.

VERDICT: Not as good as The Avengers, but a must-see if you like non-stop action. I wouldn’t have minded not seeing the film.

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

Film Review: PIKU

The film will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan
Written by: Juhi Chaturvedi
Director: Shoojit Sircar

The Movie

Piku (Deepika Padukone) is probably in her early thirties and lives with her cranky 70-year-old father Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) in Delhi. She’s partner with Syed Afroz (Jishu Sengupta) at Minerva Designers.

Bhaskor Banerjee suffers from chronic constipation and the movie revolves around it. BB feels that his daughter’s life should be with him and his motions rather than her setting up her own life. He does his best to discourage young men who may be interested in wooing her into marriage. He insists that women should lead an independent life and not be shackled by a husband. He doesn’t seem to mind if she’s shackled by her father, though.

My Perception

Yeah, I was revolted when I saw the promos and decided not to see the film. But then, at least three people told me that it’s a film not to be missed. And for the reason that I loved Vicky Donor. So, went to PVR Cinemas Sion with Venkat for the 11.30 pm show last night.

Amitabh Bachchan is a veteran actor, no doubt. In his role as the cranky and stubborn Bhaskor Banerjee, he has surpassed himself. Watching him walk and talk was a joy. As you sit through the film, you can’t help laugh at his antics and find him endearing despite his irritating nature. A special kudos to Senior Bachchan on his scintillating performance!

Deepika Padukone is excellent as Piku. Her expressions change from sadness to anger to joy to tears within seconds, keeping the audience enthralled. Her relationship with her father is so beautifully portrayed. She adores him despite his idiosyncrasies. Amazing performance!

Irrfan (yeah, that’s how is name is mentioned in the titles) is a great actor. His performance as the owner of a taxi service is commendable. He’s so able to relate to Piku’s pain as she deals with her recalcitrant parent, who is completely dependent on her.

The rest of the characters are well chalked out and play their roles to perfection.

Just imagine creating a film about “motion se hi emotion” without a strong storyline! Writer Juhi Chaturvedi and Director Shoojit Sircar must surely have had a lot of guts to come up with such a theme. But believe me when I say that they have come up aces with this one. The film has the right balance of humour and emotions to strum your heartstrings.

It must have taken some kind of gumption to have dialogue after dialogue describing the various forms of stools that a person can have. Piku is so used to them that it never strikes her when she talks about excrete descriptively at the dining table.

VERDICT: A truly well made film of just two hours. It will keep you rolling with laughter and shedding a tear or two.

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

Film Review: GABBAR IS BACK

A full-scale entertainer!

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Shruti Hassan, Suman Talwar, Sunil Grover
Director: Krish
Editor: Rajesh G. Pandey

I loved the promos and had been waiting to catch this one as soon as I could. Venkat had already seen it a couple of days back. So, it was Vinny and me who went to PVR Cinemas @ Sion (Yeah, it’s Cinemax no more) for the 8.10 pm show on Thursday.

The Film

“Gabbar” is the name Professor Aditya (Akshay Kumar) of National College fame gives himself when he’s out to get fraudulent government officers. Gabbar manages to kidnap 10 District Tahsildars. After three days, nine are let out and one is found hung in the middle of the road from a high point. Gabbar sends the police a CD, where he has recorded the reason ‘why’. All ten of the Tahsildars are extremely corrupt and Gabbar has killed the worst of the lot. Thus begins Gabbar’s terror strikes against corruption. Soon, everyone is petrified of taking bribe, at least in that particular department where Gabbar has struck.

There is one well-educated constable called Hawaldar Sadhuram (Sunil Grover) who’s relegated to driving the police officers around – only because he couldn’t afford the bribe to become a sub-inspector. When strongly discouraged by his seniors, he takes leave from work and sets out to find out who Gabbar is.

Aditya happens to meet Shruti (Shruti Hassan) by chance when she’s helping a pregnant woman get to hospital. She’s a lawyer and soon the two are in love. While Gabbar does his best to clean up the corrupt government departments, Aditya comes across a private hospital that fleeces patients mercilessly. Gabbar sets out to deal with the doctors only to catch the attention of business tycoon Patil (Suman Talwar).

I am not going to say much more about the film here. Yeah, there is more.

My Perception

As I mentioned above, I loved the promos and had to watch the film. And I must say that I wasn’t disappointed. Akshay Kumar has a new look – older and mature. It suits him perfectly. His acting skills have improved tremendously and he makes an excellent action star. He’s performed his role as Professor Aditya and Gabbar too well.

Kareena Kapoor in her brief role as Aditya’s wife looks gorgeous. She’s good though there is not much of an opportunity for her to act. Shruti Hassan looks lovely as well and plays the part of a bubbly lawyer well. I must say that she has improved a lot since the days of Luck.

It’s Sunil Grover as Hawaldar Sadhuram who takes the second prize for acting in this film. He’s too good with both his expression and dialogue delivery. Kudos!

Suman Talwar used to be a hero in Tamil films a few decades ago. Recently, he is taken to portray the bad guy in movies. He makes for a good villain. Chitrangada Singh sizzles in an item number that has been filmed very well.

Special Congratulations to Rajesh G. Pandey for editing the film to perfection! There was not one second wastage as the scenes flew from one to another, keeping it crisp and tight, running for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

After all this, I need to mention that Gabbar Is Back is a remake of the Tamil film Ramanaa (2002)

VERDICT: If you are fond of seeing good triumphing over evil, you will love this one.

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

Film Review: CINDERELLA

I loved the film!

Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter
Director: Kenneth Branagh

As no one in my family was keen on watching fairy tale films, I decided to go to Cinderella (2015) all by myself at Cinemax Sion. 

THE STORY

Adapted from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the film is the story of Ella (Lily James) who is the only child leading a peaceful and loved existence along with her parents (Hayley Atwell and Ben Chaplin). Sadly, her mother falls ill and on her deathbed, makes Ella promise to lead a courageous and kind life. Later, her father gets married to the recently widowed Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and brings her home along with her two spoilt daughters Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger). There is no peace in the household from this point.

Soon, Ella’s father goes on one of his trips, never to return. Insisting that she cannot afford the servants, Lady Tremaine sends them away and makes Ella do all the work. When her face gets dirty with the ash from the fireplace, the stepsisters begin to call her Cinderella. Cinderella has a miserable life until she happens to meets Kit (Richard Madden) in the forest. She believes that he works in the palace while he is actually the prince. The rest of the story follows the fairy tale and is about the grand ball given at the palace, the fairy godmother helping Cinderella attend the ball till the prince manages to trace her back with the one glass slipper that remains with him.

MY PERCEPTION

Though I have read so many versions of this tale and also have watched the animated version of Cinderella, I must say I was hooked from the first scene. The house Ella grows up in, in the middle of the meadow, is a treat to watch. Her friendship with all the farm animals is nothing short of beautiful.

Lily James has done a commendable job of acting as Cinderella – courageous and kind indeed. Cate Blanchett is just perfect as the wicked stepmother and so are Sophie McShera and Holliday Grainger as the spoilt stepsisters (though the two were a mite too loud). Richard Madden plays Kit aka Prince Charming. He looks gorgeously handsome and fits the role of a prince in love. I was happy to see that there was more of him in the film than in the original fairy tale. 

The best scene is when the Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) converts the pumpkin into a gorgeous golden carriage, the mice friends of Ella into four white horses, two lizards into footmen and the goose into the coachman. I am sure children would love to watch this one for sure. 

The film runs for just 1 hour and 46 minutes making it a total joy packaged in less than two hours.

VERDICT: A must see if you are fond of romance; fairy tales and magic. I loved it. 

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

Film Review: DUM LAGA KE HAISHA

Ayushmann Khurrana is excellent in his role as Prem

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, 
Director: Sharat Katariya

THE STORY

The film is set in 1995 Haridwar. Prem (Ayushmann Khurrana) runs a music tape shop along with his father. He’s barely managed to scrape through school till Standard VIII. He lives with his parents and a paternal aunt who’s separated from her husband. Prem’s father arranges his wedding with Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar) from an educated family. She’s a B.Ed and likes Prem when they meet for the first time. He doesn’t like her at all as he finds her too fat for his taste. Of course, they don’t get the opportunity to find out anything more about each other. 

His father leaves Prem with no choice but to marry Sandhya. Ashamed of his new wife, Prem refuses to live with her and hates the idea of even introducing her to his friends. Sandhya is confused. It’s when she hears him talk badly about her to his friends that she gets to know the depth of his hatred. She leaves him to go back to her parents, filing for a divorce. The court orders Prem and Sandhya to try living with each other for six months before taking a decision. What happens in those six months? Will Prem and Sandhya decide to continue as man and wife or will they separate forever? 

MY PERCEPTION

The story is not so bad. And I am glad that the film ran for 111 minutes, a bit less than two hours. Better yet, we watched it during the week and spent only Rs. 130 per ticket. Considering all the above points, I didn’t regret the experience. 

As for the film, Ayushmann Khurrana is excellent in his role as Prem, hemmed in by his parents and his environment; confused by his own mind and lack of education; finally feeling compassion for the woman who’s married him. Congratulations!

This is Bhumi Pednekar’s first film as an actress. She’s really good; casual, smart, educated and very comfortable in her plumpness. 

The rest of the characters come together to form a good film. The last sequence when Prem carries Sandhya piggyback for a race, giving the film its name, is too tough to swallow. Even if Prem was a practised marathon runner, it would be an impossible thing to do. Unless, he’s been carrying heavy sacks over many years. Some thought could have gone into creating this.

VERDICT: You can watch the film if you have a lot of time in your hands, like soft, slow romances, and don’t mind spending the money. Otherwise, watch out for Dum Laga Ke Haisha on TV. It’s not long in coming!  

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

Film Review: SHAMITABH

Dhanu SHAMITABH Bachchan

The film has enough meat to run for maximum 45 minutes, no more!

Venkat was keen on seeing the film immediately on release as Dhanush is an excellent actor. I couldn’t but agree with him and so tagged along on Friday to watch the 10.15 pm show at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY

Dhanush (Dhanush) is a famous actor in Bollywood and is on his way to receive a prestigious best actor award. As he gives his speech on stage, we get to know his life story in flashback. Dhanush was born mute with a fiery passion to become an actor since childhood. His widowed mother makes and sells bhajias for a living while Dhanush tries to run away from home many times. He finally gets to go to Mumbai when his mother passes away. 

He makes many rounds of film studios only to be thrown out again and again. It’s quite by chance that he meets Akshara (Akshara Haasan) who is an assistant director. He persuades her to give him a chance to act. She’s completely impressed with his skills despite his being unable to speak. But her boss refuses to cast an actor who is a mute. 

She speaks to her father who is a surgeon and they decide to experiment with a new treatment on Dhanush. He travels all the way to Helsinki in Finland where they fit a chip in his throat. Now he can lip sync with the words he can hear through a hearing aid from a person who is connected to him via a wireless device – something in the lines of Blue Tooth. All that is left is for them to find a guy who has a good voice, someone who is ready to remain with Dhanush 24/7. They find Amitabh (Amitabh Bachchan), a drunkard who lives in a graveyard. After much persuasion, Amitabh agrees to become Dhanush’s “voice”. Watch the film to see what happens when the “voice” refuses to co-operate when Amitabh becomes jealous of Dhanush’s success. 

MY PERCEPTION

The film has an excellent storyline with two great actors at the helm. Dhanush is as good as Amitabh Bachchan. The South Indian actor has given an excellent performance as he auditions as a mute. Amazing!

What’s even better was the child actor who has played Dhanush’s role when he’s in school. That kid has given an equally impressive performance. His teacher challenges him to perform a sequence of a kid who’s just lost his mother. You have to see the film to see how well the child acts. A special kudos!

All that said, the film has enough meat to run for maximum 45 minutes. It’s been prolonged to 2 ½ hours with many songs and repeated scenes that were completely unnecessary. Of these, “piddly si batein” is simply absurd and is all about using a loo. Can you believe that the whole song and dance is around a pot? Utter crap! Yeah, the pun too!

Akshara Haasan has a good role and she is alright. She has a very long way to go before she becomes a good actress. 

The end was simply disgusting. I won’t talk about it as I don’t want to give out any spoilers to those who might want to see it despite the review. 

I like a film that inspires or entertains or makes one feel good. This one does none of these things. It definitely is not worth Rs. 230 per ticket that we spent. A waste of good money! 

VERDICT: Watch Shamitabh at your own risk

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

Film Review: BABY

Mumbai’s cynical audience broke into spontaneous applause thrice!

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Rana Daggubatti, Sushant Singh, Taapsee Pannu
Director: Neeraj Pandey

Venkat wanted to see this film even before it’s release. But I didn’t want to see a picture with the title Baby. That was before I got to know that it was directed by Neeraj Pandey who has also helmed films such as A Wednesday and Special 26. Then Venkat, Vinny and I decided to catch it at Cinemax Sion on Tuesday. 

THE STORY

Feroz (Danny Denzongpa) heads a secret Anti Terrorist Squad of twelve members. It’s a trial venture to last for five years and hence he has named it Baby. Four years ahead, the number of members has come down to Feroz plus just four, the rest having been killed during operations. But their success rate is too good. Ajay (Akshay Kumar) manages to uncover a plot for bombing a mall in Delhi. It is thwarted by him and Jai (Rana Daggubati). During the mission, they get to know that more bombings are lined up in the main cities of India. While chasing Bilal (Kay Kay Menon) and terrorist leader Maulana (Rasheed Naz) across Nepal and Saudi Arabia, Ajay and Jai get into deeper trouble along with Priya (Taapsee Panu) and Shukla (Anupam Kher). Will they get back alive? 

MY PERCEPTION

The film was very fast-paced and interesting. Every single actor fitted his/her role and has performed perfectly well. The best part was that the film had only half a song, that too in the background. 

Danny Denzongpa has given an excellent performance as Feroz who heads the Secret Squad. Akshay Kumar looks fitter than ever and is simply awesome as Ajay who balances a secret and dangerous career with a loving family. Anupam Kher’s role is small yet very good. The boy who plays an engineering student was simply amazing. Taapsee Pannu’s fight sequence was a pleasure to watch. 

The audience broke into spontaneous applause at least thrice during the course of the film, which is saying a lot. 

I only wish they had come up with a different title. Baby sounds so innocuous. 

VERDICT: All-in-all, a very good and intelligent film that’s worth a watch. 

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

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: LINGAA

If you are a fan of Superstar Rajnikanth, then this one should not be missed

Cast: Rajnikanth, Anushka, Sonakshi Sinha, Santhanam, Jagapati Babu
Director: KS Ravikumar

Lingaa was released in Tamil on Friday, December 12, 2014 which also happened to be Superstar Rajnikanth’s birthday. Venkat and I decided to go to Cinemax Sion for the 11 pm show. Considering that it was a late night show, the theatre was completely packed. The show began with a lot of whistling and catcalls. Instead of getting disturbed, we both joined in the fun. Luckily, the crowd settled down after the first ten minutes or so. 

THE STORY

The story opens in a village in Karnataka where a temple of Lord Shiva has been kept shut for 70 years. The village head decides to have it opened by the descendent of Raja Lingeswaran who had built it seven decades ago. Public TV correspondent Lakshmi (Anushka) also happens to be the granddaughter of the village head. She offers to find the king’s grandson and descendant. She zeroes in on Lingaa (Rajnikanth) who is a small time thief in partnership with four friends of his. He has no pride in his heritage as he is under the impression that Raja Lingeswaran had lost all his palaces and wealth due to gambling and womanising. When Lakshmi manages to persuade him to visit the village and temple, Lingaa gets to learn the truth about his grandfather (also Rajnikanth). The rest of the film is about how MP Nagabooshan (Jagapati Babu) tries to destabilise the dam built by Raja Lingeswaran. Watch the film to find out how Lingaa manages to save the day. 

MY PERCEPTION

Superstar Rajnikanth has done it once again – got away with the role of a hero in his late 20s. I must say he’s excellent. While his role as Lingaa is very good, he plays Raja Lingeswaran even better. Anushka is just arm candy and needs to lose weight.  

Though Sonakshi Sinha also appears plump, her acting skills are too good. She plays the role of Bharathi, a young lady from the village who falls in love with Raja Lingeswaran. 

Santhanam plays Lingaa’s friend and I must say his comedy timing is perfect. Jagapati Babu plays the villain and is good. 

Music by AR Rahman is not his best and for once I was glad that too many songs didn’t interrupt the flow of the story. 

The scenes at the dam and its construction have been shot beautifully. A special kudos to the cinematographer! KS Ravikumar has directed a number of Rajnikanth films and all have gone on to become super successes. I must say that this one also promises to be one. It’s Superstar Rajnikanth all the way. 

VERDICT: If you are a fan of Superstar Rajnikanth, then this one should not be missed. 

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

Film Review: BANG BANG

You can watch Bang Bang for the mind-blowing action 

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Jimmy Shergill, Jaaved Jaffrey, Danny Denzongpa, Pawan Malhotra
Director: Siddharth Anand

Even though Bang Bang didn’t receive raving reviews, Venkat and I were keen to see it and went to Cinemax for the Sunday evening show. How could we miss the Hrithik-Katrina starrer! We did not regret it.

THE STORY

Viren Nanda (Jimmy Shergill) is an army officer who goes to London to get terrorist Omar Zafar (Danny Denzongpa) extradited to India. Omar’s associate Hamid Gul (Jaaved Jaffrey) storms the London prison to help the former escape. Omar kills Viren on the spot. Omar and Hamid decide to terrorise India by getting someone to steal the Kohinoor Diamond from London. Enter Rajveer (Hrithik Roshan) who manages to do the impossible by stealing the diamond. But he refuses to hand it over to Omar’s goons as they act tough. On the run, he meets Harleen (Katrina Kaif) in Shimla. Harleen doesn’t have a boyfriend and likes Rajveer when she meets him, unaware that he is a jewel thief. Rajveer drugs her and takes her along with him as he runs around the globe, away from both the police and Omar’s men. Why would he want the Kohinoor Diamond if not to sell it to Omar? Is he what he appears to be? Will Harleen be able to get together with Rajveer? You need to watch the film to find out.

MY PERCEPTION

The film is a copy of Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz starrer Knight and Day and is an out and out masala flick. Leave your brain back at home and just enjoy it for the fun and frolic along with intense action. 

Hrithik Roshan looks handsome with fantastic eight-pack abs. But he does look old and tired. That could be the result of his surgery and intense working out. Felt quite sorry for the guy actually.

Katrina Kaif as Harleen is pure eye-candy with not much scope for acting. She’s sailed through the film. 

Danny Dengzongpa, Jimmy Shergill, Pawan Malhotra and the others have good roles and have all performed well. 

Jaaved Jaafrey looks awesome with a tattoo on his throat and makes an excellent villain as Hamid Gul. Kudos!

I am still not able to wrap my head around the story that says Rajveer drugs Harleen and takes her around the world right from the spot where he meets her. Isn’t there something called the ‘Passport’ and then the ‘Visa’ for someone to travel out of the country? This is why I told you to leave your brain at home. No one warned me and I had taken mine along to the film. 

VERDICT: You can watch Bang Bang for the mind-blowing action 

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