Movie Review: Godzilla Vs Kong (English)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and DC Universe has made it clear once and for all that creating film series and getting popular characters from different films together is a great formula. Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures probably got inspired by this aspect and created a MonsterVerse. After delivering three films in this universe – GODZILLA [2014], KONG: SKULL ISLAND [2017] and GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS [2019], the fourth and the highly awaited film is here – GODZILLA VS. KONG. The trailer has got a great response and the memes and jokes surrounding the epic battle in the film have contributed to the film’s hype. So does GODZILLA VS. KONG manage to give audiences a highly entertaining time? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1200151 size-full" title="Movie Review: Godzilla Vs Kong (English)" src="https://ift.tt/3rlZU6o" alt="Movie Review: Godzilla Vs Kong (English)" width="750" height="450" /> GODZILLA VS. KONG is the story of the gigantic clash of two titans. It is a usual day at the Pensacola, Florida complex of Apex Cybernetics. Suddenly, Godzilla attacks the company facility without any provocation and causes massive destruction. Till now, Godzilla was seen as the saviour of the humanity but this episode makes him the villain of the world. Meanwhile, in Skull Island, Kong has been kept in a very wide enclosure by Monarch. Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) works in the facility as an anthropological linguist. She has been trying her best to communicate with Kong and to understand his behavioural patterns. She is surprised when she finds out one day that her adopted mute daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle) manages to forge a bond with Kong and communicate with him. Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) is hired by Apex’s chiefs, Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri) and Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), based on his research and a book on the titans. Ren and Walter plan to lure Godzilla into the Hollow Earth through an opening in Antarctica and then destroy him there. Godzilla and Kong have a very old rivalry and they feel that if they manage to get Kong at Hollow Earth, Godzilla would follow and their purpose could be achieved. In no time, Monarch gives the go-ahead to take Kong to Antarctica for the mission. Kong is chained and taken into a vast ship. Dr Ilene, Jia, Dr Nathan and a top Apex executive, Maia Simmons (Eiza González), also accompany Kong in the ship. Dr Ilene orders to take a detour so that they don’t pass through Godzilla’s usual route while in sea. Yet, Godzilla senses Kong’s presence and it attacks the ape. Kong manages to save himself but gets grievously injured. With the help of Jia, he manages to recover. Meanwhile, in Florida, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), an Apex employee is running a podcast wherein he’s telling his listeners that all is not well in the company. He finds a fan in Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), the daughter of Monarch scientists Mark (Kyle Chandler) and the late Emma Russell. She manages to track Bernie down. Bernie shares with her that a mysterious shipment is about to be sent to Apex complex in Hong Kong. To find out more about it, they infiltrate into the almost-destroyed Apex facility in Pensacola, Florida. Both are also joined by Madison’s nerdy friend, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison). What happens next forms the rest of the film. Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields's story is entertaining and has all the ingredients of a grand, cinematic spectacle. Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein's screenplay is highly effective. The focus is firmly kept on the battle between the two monsters and the build-up. A few human characters don’t get the deserved screen space but the writers compensate for it to some extent by giving some excellent scenes to the track of Jia and that of Bernie, Madison and Josh. Dialogues contribute a lot to the humour, especially in the track of Bernie. Adam Wingard's direction is simple and commercial. He makes the whole experience palatable for all kinds of viewers, especially for the masses and family audiences. What’s praiseworthy is that he packs in a lot in just 113 minutes. Though both monsters come face to face for a limited time, the build-up is done in a superb fashion. Also once they start fighting, viewers get totally involved. In fact, he has ably handled the climax and it is sure to give a <em>paisa vasool</em> experience to the viewers. On the flipside, to see Godzilla as the villain might not go down well with a section of viewers, especially those who have been emotionally invested with the monster in the previous MonsterVerse films. Secondly, in the process of keeping the focus on Godzilla and Kong, the villain track suffers. The antagonists hardly get time to shine. As a result, their back story and their character motivation are never explained properly. Not just them, even the characters of Dr Ilene and Dr Lind suffer from weak characterization. Lastly, it’s bewildering to see how soon Kong is allowed to leave Skull Island and travel to Antarctica. Knowing the dangers that Kong has in the open sea from Godzilla, a few minutes should have been spent to show Monarch and Apex management discussing the pros and cons of the mission. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1200156" src="https://ift.tt/2NOiNkK" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> GODZILLA VS. KONG begins on a very sweet note and the tone suddenly changes into a shocking one as we realize that though Kong is roaming free in Skull Island, he’s actually caged from all sides. The attack on the Apex facility in Florida sets the mood. Much of the first hour is spent on introducing the characters, their motives and of course, the grand voyage in the sea with Kong. The first battle between Godzilla and Kong is highly entertaining. But the first half is not just about thrill and action. The emotional bond between Kong and Jia is sweet and adds a lot to the film’s appeal. Post-interval, a lot of unanswered questions get answered. Kong’s experience in Hollow Earth and Antarctica is also something to watch out for. But as expected, the best is reserved for the finale. The climax battle is epic in a lot of ways. The film ends on a completely justified note. Speaking of performances, Rebecca Hall underplays her part very well. She gives her best even though her character is not fully developed. Kaylee Hottle is like the soul of the film. She expresses beautifully with her eyes and expressions and all her scenes are memorable. Alexander Skarsgård is fine and gets very limited scope. Brian Tyree Henry is highly entertaining as the talkative conspiracy theorist. He gets to mouth some of the best lines in the film. Millie Bobby Brown puts up a confident act. Julian Dennison is entertaining. Shun Oguri and Demián Bichir are okay as the villain. Shun Oguri plays a character named Serizawa and probably this means he’s probably related to Ishirō Serizawa, the Monarch hero who sacrificed his life in GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. But this connection is not mentioned in the film, not even for a second. Kyle Chandler essays the part from the previous film in the series and this time, his role is limited to that of a cameo. Eiza González suits the part. Junkie X L's music score is thrilling. The Sound mixing also enhances the entertainment by many notches. Ben Seresin's cinematography is stunning and adds to the fun and madness. Tom Hammock and Owen Paterson's production design is rich and superior, just as the film demanded. Ann Foley's costumes are realistic. Action is just right and thankfully, it’s neither too gory nor violent. VFX is one of the pillars of the film. The special effects are out of the world and one can see that the attempt has been to go one level up as compared to other films of the series. Hence, this time, Kong’s expressions are even more detailed and vibrant. At the same time, the destruction of the city in the climax is also quite extreme and unbelievable. Josh Schaeffer's editing is razor sharp as the film moves at a quick speed. On the whole, GODZILLA VS. KONG is a <em>paisa vasool</em> entertainer which would be best enjoyed on the big screen. The film is laced with a great story and build-up and the climax battle between the monsters is amazing. At the box office, the film has taken the best start for any film since the lockdown, despite it being a mid-week release. In the days to come, it’s sure to attract more and more family and mass audiences. The rise in the Covid cases may have some negative impact but the opening has made it clear that the impact will be minimal.

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Movie Review: Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar

Dibakar Banerjee had a smashing directorial debut with KHOSLA KA GHOSLA [2006]. He followed it up with worthy films like OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE [2008], LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA [2010], SHANGHAI [2012], and DETECTIVE BYOMKESH BAKSHY [2015]. He also helmed a short ventures in anthology films like BOMBAY TALKIES [2013], LUST STORIES [2018] and GHOST STORIES [2020], besides producing the intense fare TITLI [2015]. These films helped him create a fan following of his own and now his long impending film, SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR, finally releases in cinemas today. So does SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR turn out to be as exciting as Dibakar Banerjee’s earlier films? Or does this film prove to be an exception? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1197632 size-full" title="Movie Review Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" src="https://ift.tt/2QmhsCP" alt="Movie Review Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar" width="750" height="450" /> SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR is the story of a woman whose life is in danger. Sandy Walia aka Sandeep (Parineeti Chopra) works for Parivartan Bank at a very senior position. She has a fling with her boss, Parichay (Dinker) and also helps the bank get lot of investments by floating a Ponzi scheme. Sandeep gets pregnant with Parichay’s child and refuses for abortion. She also blackmails Parichay about the Ponzi scheme. Parichay decides to eliminate her. He hires a corrupt police officer, Tyagi (Jaideep Ahlawat) for this job. Tyagi gets a suspended cop, Satinder Dahiya aka Pinky (Arjun Kapoor) on board. The plan is that Pinky will come to pick up Sandeep in order to take her to Parichay’s place. On the way, they’ll be assassinated by the cops. Pinky, however, gets doubtful about Tyagi’s intentions. Therefore, he purposely gives the number of the car in front of him to Tyagi, while he’s on the way. From a distance, Sandeep and Pinky witness that Tyagi’s men finish off the occupants of the front car, mistaking them to be Sandeep and Pinky. Sandeep and Pinky then run away and become incommunicado. Sandeep requests Pinky to take her safely to Nepal in return for Rs. 10 lakhs. All cards of Sandeep are blocked but she assures that she’ll find a way to give him the promised amount. Pinky then takes Sandeep to Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. It’s located at the border of India and Nepal. Pinky then starts finding out a way to cross the border. Meanwhile, Sandeep bumps into an old couple (Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav) in Pithoragarh. Sandeep tells the lady that she’s pregnant and that she needs a good place to stay. She lies that the hotel in Pitthoragarh where she is residing is dirty. The couple takes pity on them and allows them to stay in their house. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Dibakar Banerjee and Varun Grover's story has lot of potential and could have made for an intense thriller. Dibakar Banerjee and Varun Grover's screenplay, however, is dry and insipid. There’s a lot happening in the film but it’s scripted poorly. It seems as if the writers purposely made the proceedings boring. Dibakar Banerjee and Varun Grover's dialogues are fine and some of them raise laughs. Dibakar Banerjee's direction is not upto the mark. The filmmaker has made some fine films in the past and he knows his craft. But here, he just doesn’t seem to be in form. His genius streak shines only in a few scenes like the long-drawn opening scene, shot in one take beautifully, or where Sandeep breaks down in the first half. But in most parts of the film, he falters. The first half is bearable and one expects fireworks in the second half. However, the second half is flawed and needlessly stretched. One fails to understand what’s happening at several places. This also occurs because the sound mixing is horrible. Several dialogues are inaudible. It’s shocking why the reputed makers would release a film with bad sound. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1197634" src="https://ift.tt/3rY4ngO" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR starts off on a thrilling note. The opening scene is filmed in one take and is almost 4-5 minutes long and the way it culminates is superb. The entry of Sandeep and Pinky in the narrative is also interesting. The scene where Sandeep breaks down in front of the old lady is moving while the scene where Sandeep and Pinky convince the old couple to let them stay in their house is sweet. After this point, the film goes downhill. The track of the corrupt bankers doesn’t really involve. In the second half, the only scene that arrests attention is when the bank manager, Sumit (Sukant Goel), attacks Sandeep. The climax is a letdown. Parineeti Chopra is in a good form. This is unlike the roles that she’s known for but she manages to put up a convincing performance. Arjun Kapoor delivers a restrained performance and in sync with the character that he’s essaying. Jaideep Ahlawat is effortless in a supporting role. Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav are adorable. Dinker suits the part. Sukant Goel delivers a smashing performance. Suruchi Aulakh (Purva; journalist), Archana Patel (Sejal; who replaces Sandy in the bank), Rahul Kumar (Munna) and Dev Chauhan (Nyal; who owns Pathik International) are decent. Sharon Prabhakar is there for a second in the film. Songs are mostly relegated in the background. <em>'Faraar'</em> leaves a mark. <em>'iPhone'</em> goes unnoticed. <em>'Maata Dharti Par Aaja'</em> and <em>'Maa Ka Bulaava Aayega'</em> are neatly woven in the film. Dibakar Banerjee's background score is minimal and nice. Anil Mehta's cinematography is lovely and he captures the locales of Pithoragarh very well. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are non-glamorous and that works for the film. Aparna Sud and Garima Mathur's production design is straight out of life. Bakul Baljeet Matiyani's editing is not great. The second half should have been tighter. On the whole, SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR has a bearable first half but goes terribly downhill in the second hour. At the box office, it’ll face a very tough time to find audiences.

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Movie Review: Roohi

It’s been almost a year when theatres were asked to shut down due to rapid rise in the cases of Coronavirus in the country. Two of the films playing in theatres at that point were ANGREZI MEDIUM, produced by Dinesh Vijan, and KAAMYAAB, directed by Hardik Mehta. In an interesting turn of events, ROOHI, the film that releases today and kickstarts the movie-watching season in cinemas, is helmed by both these personalities. So does ROOHI manage to entertain and enthral the audiences? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1193863 size-full" title="Movie Review: Roohi" src="https://ift.tt/30wSjqN" alt="Movie Review: Roohi" width="720" height="450" /> ROOHI is the story of a possessed girl. Bhawra Pandey (Rajkummar Rao) and Kattanni Qureshi (Varun Sharma) work as crime journalists in a small town, Baagadpur. They also specialise in <em>‘pakdaai shaadi’</em> aka bride kidnapping, an accepted custom in Baagadpur. One day, their boss, Guniya Shakeel (Manav Vij) orders them to kidnap a girl, Roohi (Janhvi Kapoor), from a nearby town, Mujaribaad. Bhawra and Kattanni manage to kidnap Roohi while she is with her father (Rajesh Jais). As per the <em>‘pakdaai shaadi’</em> custom, after the girl is kidnapped, she is straight away taken to the marriage venue. Bhawra and Kattanni are also supposed to follow suit with Roohi. But after the kidnap takes place, Guniya calls them and tells them that the groom’s uncle has passed away suddenly. Hence, the marriage will now take place after a week. Till then, Bhawra and Kattanni are told to keep her as a hostage in an abandoned property in the hills of Ambiyapur. On the first night, Bhawra goes to offer dinner to Roohi only to realize that she is possessed. Kattanni, at first, doesn’t believe but later, even he sees the possessed side of Roohi. However, instead of being frightened, Kattanni falls for the possessed Roohi. Bhawra, on the other hand, is in love with the non-possessed Roohi. He decides to help her and get the witch out of her body. Kattanni however is averse to the idea as loves the possessed Roohi and if Bhawra succeeds, the witch will leave Roohi forever. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's story is interesting and novel. The writers try their best to bring something new to the table. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's screenplay, however, is interesting only in parts. A few scenes are exceptional and bring the house down. But the serious portions don’t make the desired impact. Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Gautam Mehra's dialogues are witty. But the dialect is too authentic and is incomprehensible at many places. Hardik Mehta's direction is average at best. On the plus side, he handles some scenes with élan. Also, he sets the mood right, especially in the horror scenes. Even the various towns shown in the film are uniquely depicted. For instance, the bizarre bride kidnapping custom in Baagadpur, the spooky hills of Ambiyapur and the practice of <em>desi</em> exorcism in Chimmatipur add to the film’s novelty. On the flipside, the climax is disappointing. The film also ends on an abrupt note. One hopes that the makers would provide some backstory about Roohi’s past but that never happens. The same route was also followed in STREE [2018], where the mysterious girl’s (Shraddha Kapoor) track ends on a cliffhanger. In the case of ROOHI, it doesn’t make the same impact as STREE. Also, here the goings-on are rather confusing and the dialect is difficult to understand. Several dialogues are sure to go bouncer for many viewers. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>LOL- Janhvi on being TROLLED: “Fir to main HINDUSTAN ki sabse POPULAR…”| Roohi</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/3epvgq5" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> ROOHI starts off on an interesting note, depicting the concept of bride kidnapping in Baagadpur, that too through the eyes of a foreign reporter (Alexx O'Nell). The film gets better once Bhawra and Kattanni kidnap Roohi and set base at the spooky, abandoned factory. The scene where Bhawra narrates about the possessed Roohi to Kattanni is sure to raise laughs. The scene where Kattanni, instead of running away, falls for the possessed Roohi is unique and unexpected. It will bring smiles on the faces of the viewers. The interval comes at an interesting juncture. Post-interval, the film begins to fall but a few scenes especially of the marriage with the dog and Bhawra’s conversation with the old lady (Sarita Joshi) add to the humour and madness. The climax, though unpredictable, is disappointing. Talking of performances, Rajkummar Rao is in his element as expected. Due to his adorable performance, one doesn’t hate him even though he’s playing a kidnapper in the film. And his comic timing is spot-on, especially in the scenes where he’s running away from the possessed Roohi. Janhvi Kapoor is a big surprise. She hardly has any dialogues but gets her act right with her expressions. And she also is convincing as the witch. Varun Sharma is marvellous and manages to raise laughs. In the last 30 minutes, however, he doesn’t have much to do. Manav Vij suits the part and his performance is fair. Sarita Joshi (credited in the film as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi) is hilarious and one wishes that she had a longer screen time. Alexx O'Nell is lovely. Rajesh H Jais, Anurag Arora (Tantrik), Sumit Gulati (Paras; Roohi’s groom in the end) are okay. Sachin-Jigar's music is appropriate for the film and it’s theme. <em>'Kiston'</em> comes suddenly but is soulful. <em>'Bhootni' </em>is hilarious while <em>'Panghat'</em> is played in the end credits. <em>'Nadiyon Paar'</em> is attached with the film’s print before the film starts. It is the best song of the lot and well shot. One wishes if it was a part of the film’s narrative. Ketan Sodha's background score is well woven and also contributes to the horror quotient. Amalendu Chaudhary's cinematography is spectacular. The various locales in the film are well captured. Ayushi Agarwal and Abhijeet Shresth's production design is quirky and adds to the eerie atmosphere. Theia Tekchandaney's costumes are realistic. Nikita Kapoor's prosthetics are very convincing. Manohar Verma's action is fine while Red Chillies.VFX's VFX is first-rate. Huzefa Lokhandwala's editing is fine and could have been better and crisper in the first half. On the whole, ROOHI rests on a unique concept, fine performances and some interesting funny and horror sequences. However, the disappointing climax and difficult-to-understand dialect might affect the film’s prospects at the box office.

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Movie Review: Madam Chief Minister

Politics is an important component of our society and in recent times, with the advent of social media, it has become popular even among the youth who earlier weren’t that interested. However, the same wasn’t reflected in our films. We have obviously had plenty of films involving politicians but a fictional film revolving around the life of a neta was rare. Most of them which were released recently like THACKERAY [2019], THE ACCIDENTAL PRIME MINISTER [2019] and PM NARENDRA MODI [2019] were biopics. MADAM CHIEF MINISTER, directed by Subhash Kapoor of JOLLY LLB fame, which has released today, fills up this space. It’s not a biopic and serves as a fictional political thriller. The trailer and some of the parallels with the life of ex-Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati have caught some attention. So does MADAM CHIEF MINISTER emerge as an entertaining political fare? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1171980 size-full" title="Movie Review: Madam Chief Minister" src="https://ift.tt/3sI72w5" alt="Movie Review: Madam Chief Minister" width="720" height="450" /> MADAM CHIEF MINISTER is the story of a girl who rises from being a nobody to the most powerful woman in Uttar Pradesh. Tara Roopram (Richa Chadha) is born in 1982 in a village in Uttar Pradesh. The same day, her father, Roopram (Mukteshwar Ohja) is killed by members of a higher caste. Tara’s grandmother, who is anyway upset with her birth since she’s the fourth daughter in the family, gets enraged when she learns about the demise of Roopram. She accuses Tara for this tragedy and is about to kill her. But Tara’s mother (Seema Modi) stops her from doing so. Many years later, Tara is grown up and works as a librarian in a university. She is in a physical relationship with Indramani Tripathi (Akshay Oberoi), a political heir and a politically active student in the university. One day, Tara tells Indramani that she’s pregnant and that she wishes to marry Indramani. To which Indramani makes it clear that it’s not possible because of caste differences. He advises her to abort the child. She refuses and threatens to expose him. His goons attack her when she’s working in the woods. However, she’s saved by the men of Master Surajbhan (Saurabh Shukla), who belongs to the Parivartan Party of India, which fights for the lower caste and downtrodden people. Tara is indebted to Master and she starts living with him and even working for his party. She picks up the workings of politics quickly. Some time before the state elections, she advises Master to form an alliance with Arvind Singh (Shubrajyoti Barat) of the Vikas Party, who had approached Master for a political partnership. Master sends Tara to meet Arvind Singh and convince him about the terms that Master has. Tara succeeds. When no one is ready to fight elections against the sitting CM, Tara takes up the challenge. She impresses the junta with their fiery speeches. She also fakes an attack on herself to gain sympathy. All these reasons help her defeat the sitting CM in the elections. As per the alliance terms, for the first 2½ years, a candidate of Parivartan Party of India will serve as the Chief Minister. The party members select O P Kushwaha (Sangam Bhaguna) due to his seniority and political experience. But, Master vetoes the decision and makes Tara the Chief Minister. She shifts to the CM’s sprawling residence. She gets her mother to stay with her who is obviously proud of Tara’s achievements. Meanwhile, her OSD (Officer on Special Duty), Danish Khan (Manav Kaul) informs her about the MLAs of the Vikas Party who are selected by Vikas Singh to serve in the cabinet. All of them are close to Vikas, as a friend or family member, and one of them is none other than Indramani Tripathi! Tara is angry that someone who tried to kill her will become a Cabinet Minister. She tries her best to ensure he doesn’t get the minister’s post. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Subhash Kapoor's story is promising in parts. After RAAJNEETI [2010], we haven’t really had a fictional political flick. It’s commendable that the writer researched well and managed to come up with some interesting sequences, many of which are based on common political tactics like unholy political alliances, horse trading etc. But Subhash Kapoor's screenplay doesn’t do complete justice. The first half has some goofs which one tends to overlook in favour of the many plusses in the film. But in the second half, these minuses get amplified and affect the impact. Subhash Kapoor's dialogues are realistic and sharp at places. However, the catchphrase used by Tara during her speeches ‘<em>Main tumhari hoon</em>’ could have been better thought of and more hard-hitting. Subhash Kapoor's direction is exceptional at places but otherwise, it’s quite pale, especially in comparison to his past films. What’s surprising from the very start is that the film moves too quickly, which is not really Subhash’s style. At first, one feels great since a fast-paced narrative can also mean a better narrative. But in the process of rushing through things, the director skips a few developments, which leave the viewers confused. For instance, why doesn’t Tara go ahead with the pregnancy and when is it that she changes her mind is never depicted. Secondly, a member of Master’s party Sundar (Boloram Das) does a heinous act of betrayal. Sadly, his track is forgotten completely in the second half. The finale seems a bit abrupt. Ideally, the makers should have reversed the chronology. The poisoning bit track should have been followed by the horse-trading sequence as the latter was quite powerful. If the film had ended with this said action-packed track, the impact would have been there. Sadly, the vice versa happens. So a fantastic sequence is followed by a disappointing one and hence, the audience comes out of the theatre feeling not-so-impressed. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1171983" src="https://ift.tt/2LTwga5" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> MADAM CHIEF MINISTER has a decent beginning, explaining the caste wars prevalent in rural areas. The introduction of adult Tara and her relationship with Indramani is quickly explained and depicted. But it’s when Master Surajbhan enters the narrative that the film gets better. The pure bond that he shares with Tara is heartening. The execution seems a bit jerky at places but one doesn’t mind much here as there’s a lot happening in the film. Two scenes that really stand out here are – Tara forcing herself and other lower castes people into the temple; and the other one is when she forcefully tonsures Indramani. The intermission point is arresting. Post-interval, the film zooms like a rocket as Tara ‘kidnaps’ MLAs from Vikas Party and holds them in a guest house. The drama that ensues here is sure to keep one at the edge of the seat. Sadly, from here on, instead of maintaining this high, the film falls. The track of the CM being slowly poisoned is unpredictable but doesn’t really create the desired impact as it’s flawed. The finale is well thought of but again, it lacks the punch. Speaking of performances, Richa Chadha does justice as she puts up a confident and convincing performance. The best part about her performance is that she understands Tara well. She goes overboard as Tara plays to the gallery while giving speeches but she also draws a line so that it doesn’t seem like a ham performance. Saurabh Shukla is lovely and all his scenes are engaging. Manav Kaul is dependable always but is let down by the script in the pre-climax and finale. Akshay Oberoi leaves a huge mark. One wishes that he had more screen time. Shubrajyoti Barat is fine as the villain. Boloram Das is fair. Sangam Bhaguna, Mukteshwar Ohja and Seema Modi don't get much scope. Nikhil Vijay (Babloo) played a half-baked character and it seemed like he was trying to imitate popular actor Dhanush. Raviza Chauhan (Shashi Rai) is great. Shreya Awasthi (Dr Laxmi), Alok Sharad (Judge) and the actor playing judge Supriya Tiwari are okay. Mangesh Dhakde's music is wasted. Ideally, this should have been a songless film. <em>'Chidi Chidi'</em> is forgettable. Mangesh Dhakde's background score, however, is dramatic and has a commercial vibe. Jayesh Nair's cinematography is spectacular. The scene where Richa apes Dr. Ambedkar’s statue’s pose especially is very well captured. Vikram Singh's production design is sans complaints. Veera Kapur Ee's costumes are straight out of life while Nikita Kapoor's make-up and prosthetics add to the realism. Parvez Shaikh's action isn’t gory and yet, works well as per the film’s theme. Chandrashekhar Prajapati's editing is problematic. On the whole, MADAM CHIEF MINISTER boasts of an interesting idea and fine performances by Richa Chadha and Saurabh Shukla. But the loopholes in the script and a disappointing and abrupt finale spoil the show. At the box office, it will struggle to get footfalls as it has been released without any awareness.

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Movie Review: Shakeela

Vidya Balan’s much loved 2011 film THE DIRTY PICTURE told the story of a Southern siren Silk Smitha. Audiences loved the depiction of the Southern industry of the 80s and the hypocrisy of society which was exposed in the Milan Luthria-directorial. 9 years later, now Richa Chadha takes up the part of another popular Southern heroine, Shakeela, in the film, titled SHAKEELA. So does SHAKEELA manage to give an entertaining and thought-provoking time to the audiences? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1162204" src="https://ift.tt/3rrVrjP" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> SHAKEELA is the biopic of the adult star Shakeela. The year is 1990. Shakeela (Kajol Chugh) is a young school girl living in the small town of Vallamkulam, Kerala with her parents and a couple of siblings. She belongs to a poor family and his mother is constantly upset over their condition. Shakeela is always interested in acting and when she gets a chance to play Draupaudi in the school play, she readily accepts it. She even wins a trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 1000. The same day, however, her father passes away. Her mother takes Shakeela and her siblings to the city of Cochin. Her mother was a junior artist in the film industry at one point and she decided to try her luck in cinema again. Soon, however, her mother has a change of plan. She takes Shakeela to filmmaker Rajan Pillai (Vivek Madan) and asks her to cast Shakeela in one of his adult films. Rajan agrees. Shakeela, however, runs away from the first day of shoot and blasts her mother for making her act in such movies. Her mother, however, tells her to not back out as it would help their family have a decent standard of living. Shakeela has no choice but to go with the flow. Soon, she starts getting a lot of film offers. 9 years later, Shakeela (Richa Chadha) has grown up and has achieved popularity but is not yet a star. She is a huge fan of superstar Salim (Pankaj Tripathi) and one day, she gets a chance to be the junior artist in his film. Salim has a roving eye and he gets attracted to her, despite having a family. He tells Shakeela that she’ll play the lead in his next film and that she should meet him at his farm house at night for a ‘narration’. Shakeela gets the hint and refuses to go. She climbs the ladder of success, without sleeping around with anyone. A day comes when she becomes as popular as Salim. Salim gets insecure. He tells his friends in the media to spread the word that it is Shakeela’s soft porn films which are responsible for the rising sex crimes in Kerala. This ignites a debate and people come out on the streets, demanding a ban on her films. The producers of her upcoming films panic and she has no choice but to return the fees that were given to her for those movies. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Indrajit Lankesh's story is alright but could have made for a shocking fare. Sunil Kumar Agarwal's screenplay (additional screenplay by Janardhan Maharshi, Rohan Bajaj and Naireeta Dasgupta) is the biggest culprit. The writing is weak and moreover, with so many writers scripting, it becomes a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. The film’s tone changes every 15-20 minutes. Only a few scenes here and there are well scripted. Rohit G Banawlikar, Rohan Bajaj and Ashish Waghmare's dialogues are very poor. There were some crucial scenes where the impact could have been great but the dialogues play spoilsport. A few dialogues were sharp and acidic but the makers compel the characters to repeat them and hence, the effect gets diluted. Indrajit Lankesh's direction is lacklustre. To give credit where it’s due, the director ensures that one is not reminded of THE DIRTY PICTURE, despite that both films are on the same lines. And moreover, Silk Smitha, the protagonist of that film, also has a part in SHAKEELA. However, THE DIRTY PICTURE had class even though it was about a sexy siren. SHAKEELA, on the other hand, seems like just another soft porn film which Shakeela did in the prime of her career. Funnily, the film exposes the double standards of the society but the focus on body shots and titillation goes against the very message of the film. Till the first half, the film was still bearable. In the second half, it becomes bizarre. Audiences are suddenly told that all this while Shakeela has a best friend, Suhana (Ester Noronha), who is her body double. However, the makers chose not to show their friendship for one full hour. Shakeela’s bond with her mother was a great track but it’s treated in a superficial manner. Her family, in fact, is forgotten for most part of the film. Shakeela’s epic dialogue in the climax comes too late in the day. The text in the end which informs viewers about Shakeela’s present state is a shocker. Instead of lauding the makers, one feels angry at them as viewers would realize that this was such a great story but has now gone down the drain due to bad handling. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Richa Chadda: “A.K.Hangal Sholay mein nazar aaye, fir unhe apni medical fees ke liye dusron se…”</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/3rpmBIe" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> SHAKEELA’s opening scenes give an indication that it’s going to be a substandard product. The childhood portion of Shakeela seems cute. The scene where school kids are made to enact the scene of Draupadi’s <em>cheer haran</em> in a school play is difficult to digest. The film gets a bit better as Shakeela achieves the pinnacle of success. However, the film never really goes on a high. Post-interval, the film goes downhill as random and bewildering sequences pop up. Shakeela’s struggle to make a ‘clean’ film should have been a gripping plot point but the attention wavers considerably. The ending, though shocking, fails to create an impact. Richa Chadha is decent but her performance leaves a lot to be desired. She does try her best but the end result is not satisfactory. Kajol Chugh, who plays the young Shakeela, is way better and leaves a mark. Pankaj Tripathi is fine as an egoistic superstar. Some of the best scenes of the film are when a fight master helps him in cheat shots while shooting for action scenes. These scenes had no connection with the main plot but made the film slightly more engaging. Ester Noronha has a fine presence but is letdown by poor dialogues. Rajeev Pillai (Arjun) is alright. Vivek Madan and Sundeep Malani (Director Swamy Sir) are okay. Sheeva Rana (Silk) and the actors playing Shakeela’s mother, actress Bhavana Menon, writer Ahmed Ali, Danny Fight Master and Thomas Financier are nothing great. Music has no scope, although a film should have had a nice, retro soundtrack. <em>'Tera Ishq Satave'</em>, played in opening credits, is forgettable. The random placing of intimate scenes look forced. Even <em>'Taaza'</em> is not memorable and the same goes for the romantic track. Veer Samarth’s background score is slightly better. Santosh Rai's cinematography is passable. The focus on body shots for titillation could have been avoided. Production design gives no reason for complaint. Ballu Saluja's editing is random in the second half. On the whole, SHAKEELA rests on a very good and a shocking story but is executed horribly. It has released in cinemas without any buzz and hence, it would sink without a trace.

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Movie Review: Durgamati: The Myth

Female-centric films get acclaim but rarely emerge as a box office success. But the scenario is changing in the last few years. The trend has also been seen down South. In 2018, BHAAGMATHIE, starring Anushka Shetty, got a brilliant response in cinemas, collecting close to Rs. 50 crore worldwide. The film was loved for Anushka’s flawless performance, script, setting and of course, the unpredictable climax. Now its remake, DURGAMATI, is ready and has released on Amazon Prime video. So does DURGAMATI manage to impress viewers as much as the original version? Or does the remake fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1157425" src="https://ift.tt/3qTRILZ" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> DURGAMATI is the story of an imprisoned IAS officer being interrogated in a haunted house. A state in India witnesses several robberies of priceless idols from various temples. A minister of the ruling party, Ishwar Prasad (Arshad Warsi), wins hearts of people by claiming that if the government fails to retrieve the idols within 15 days, he’ll quit politics forever. His party members are stunned with his promise. They decide to bring him down by framing him in a corruption case. CBI officer Satakshi Ganguly (Mahie Gill) is assigned for the job. She takes local help from Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhay Singh (Jisshu Sengupta). As part of her operation, Satakshi decides to interrogate Chanchal Chauhan (Bhumi Pednekar), an IAS officer who has worked with Ishwar for close to a decade. Interestingly, she is serving a jail sentence for murdering her fiancé Shakti (Karan Kapadia). Moreover, Shakti was Abhay’s brother and needless to say, the latter has not forgiven Chanchal for her act. The interrogation of Chanchal is supposed to be a top-secret operation. Hence, it couldn’t be done in the prison or anywhere else. Hence, Abhay decides to shift her to a remote location – the Durgamati Haveli. The junior officers, who are also a part of the operation, get frightened as they have heard that the haveli is haunted. They even tell Abhay and Satakshi to shift Chanchal somewhere else. However, both the officers refuse to budge as they don’t believe in spirits. The interrogation begins and Satakshi fails to get any credible information from Chanchal that can help her nail Ishwar. Chanchal consistently maintains that he is a man with a clean image and is far from corrupt. At night, the officers stationed at the site retreat to their hub while Chanchal is asked to reside in the bungalow all alone. This is when eerie things start happening inside. Chanchal complains but the cops are not allowed to go inside to help her. The investigations continue in the day while at night, Chanchal continues to get attacked by a ghost. A few days later, the spirit of Queen Durgamati finally takes control of Chanchal. At first, Satakshi and other officers assume she’s faking it to escape the interrogation. However, they soon realize that there might be some things beyond the understanding of science. What happens next forms the rest of the film. G Ashok's story is quite novel. The idea of adding political touch in a typical haunted house plot makes for an interesting combination. On paper, this is a riveting idea, without doubt. But G Ashok's screenplay leaves a lot to be desired. Some scenes are exceptional and keep the interest going but at several places, the film turns into a clichéd horror fest. Ravinder Randhawa's dialogues are simple and also acidic at few places. G Ashok's direction is simple and commercial. The film is made for the masses and that is evident from start to finish. A few scenes are very well thought of and executed. Also, he handles the grandeur and the eerie atmosphere nicely. On the flipside, the film is riddled with too many cinematic liberties. Even the original version had the same issue but there it got saved due to Anushka Shetty’s towering performance. A performance of that sort is missing here. The director does try to change a bit from the original and that’s evident in the last part of the film. But one wishes he had done something more to hide the flaws and mindless aspects of the script. Also, while BHAAGMATHIE was just 2.17 hours long, DURGAMATI is lengthier with a runtime of 2.35 hours. The makers should have ideally kept the duration the same as in the original. DURGAMATI’s first scene, of villagers dying mysteriously, seems straight out of a B-grade film. Thankfully, the film gets on track with Ishwar Prasad’s entry and when he vows to leave politics if the stolen idols are not retrieved. The introduction of Chanchal and her dynamic with Abhay Singh adds to the drama. What is also memorable is the interrogation of Chanchal. The manner in which Satakshi tries her best to get Chanchal to spill the beans but fails is well written and thought of. The intermission point, where Chanchal transforms into Durgamati and the scene of ‘Durgamati’ talking to the psychiatrist (Ananth Narayan Mahadevan) are very gripping. But from here, the film falls. The horror element drags a lot. The climax has a solid twist which is sure to catch many viewers unawares. At the same time, it raises many questions as well. The film ends with a hint that a sequel may be in the offing. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1157427" src="https://ift.tt/2KiDhzV" alt="" width="750" height="450" /> Bhumi Pednekar puts her best foot forward and does well in the scenes where she’s playing the part of the IAS officer. But as the ghost seeking revenge, her performance falls short. Moreover, Anushka Shetty had given a brilliant performance in the original version and sadly, Bhumi’s act fails to come any close. Arshad Warsi, however, is a surprise and handles the part well. It’s also a pleasure to see him in a different avatar. Mahie Gill is impressive. The way she gets the grammar wrong while speaking Hindi is nicely done. Karan Kapadia does a fine job in confrontational scenes but at some places, he goes over the top. Also, his reactions could have been more natural in the romantic sequences. Jisshu Sengupta is dependable. Ananth Narayan Mahadevan leaves a mark despite being there for just a scene. Dhanraaj (Nand Singh), Brij Bhushan Shukla (Gopi) and Tanya Abrol (Peetal Devi) ham a lot. Ajay Pal Singh (Chowkidaar) is decent but his character doesn’t have anything to do after a point. Amita Vishwakarma (Kanchan; Chowkidaar’s wife) is fair. Shubhanker Dixit (Tantrik) is laughable. Chandan Vicky Rai (Daaruk), Amit Behl (Jose), Prabhat Raghunandan (Ajay Yadav) and Ada Singh (Satakshi’s daughter) are okay. There’s only one song in the film, <em>'Baras Baras'</em>, and is soothing. Jakes Bejoy's background score is theatrical and the theme song is chilling. Kuldeep Mamania's cinematography is impressive. The lensman handles the grandeur very well. Tariq Umar Khan's production design is spectacular. The haveli is very well built and looks straight out of life. Priyanka Mundada's costumes are appropriate. Nishant Abdul Khan's action gets quite gory, especially in the second half. Pixelloid Studios's VFX is okay. Unnikrishnan P P's editing could have been better as the film is way too long. On the whole, DURGAMATI rests on an interesting plot and is replete with some interesting scenes and an unpredictable twist in the second half. But the cinematic liberties are aplenty which hamper the impact. Also, Bhumi Pednekar’s performance is no way close to Anushka Shetty’s memorable act in BHAAGMATHIE. It will invite massive criticism from the subscribers of the OTT platform on which it has released. However, it’s sure to find an audience when it’ll premiere on satellite TV.

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Movie Review: Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari

It’s been eight months since the last big Hindi film, ANGREZI MEDIUM, hit screens. Once the lockdown kicked in, films began to go online, even the ones starring A-listers. But producers of some small films decided to wait for cinemas to reopen. Last month, cinemas finally got the go-ahead in most parts of the country while on November 5, the prime state of Maharashtra too gave its nod. This prompted Zee Studios to release SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI on Diwali on the big screen. The trailer of the film has been impressive and carries a good vibe. So does SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI manage to entertain and give viewers a good time? Or does it falter? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1148268 size-full" title="Movie Review: Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari" src="https://ift.tt/3ksG0De" alt="Movie Review: Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari" width="720" height="450" /> SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI is the story of a feud between a wedding detective and a dairy owner. The year is 1995. Suraj Singh Dhillon (Diljit Dosanjh) is a single guy from Mumbai and the heir of Jai Mata Rani Doodh Bhandar. He lives with his father Gurnaam Dhillon (Manoj Pahwa), mother Yeshodha Dhillon (Seema Pahwa) and sister Guddi (Vanshika Sharma). His parents are looking for a right match but their efforts are futile. Suraj's sidekick Sukhi (Manuj Sharma) tells him to be 'cool' and a 'bad boy' and that it would help attract girls. Suraj likes the idea and as part of his stint as a cool bad boy, he breaks the traffic signal and consumes alcohol in front of a girl’s college. Meanwhile, his parents find a match for him. An excited Suraj goes to the girl’s house with his parents. But the girl’s parents refuse their proposal because they had the pictures of Suraj while he was in his 'bad boy' avatar. Suraj is dejected and is dying to know who clicked his pictures after all. After cajoling the Pandit Dubey ji (Neeraj Sood), he gets to know that it’s none other than Madhu Mangal Rane (Manoj Bajpayee), a wedding detective. He believes it’s his job to find flaws in the to-be grooms and thus save the lives of gullible girls and their families. Suraj wants revenge but doesn’t know how. He then realizes that Mangal has a sister, Tulshi Rane (Fatima Sana Shaikh). He decides to fake a relationship with her in order to get back at Mangal. However, he falls for her in real. He expresses his love to Tulshi. She however is hiding a shocking secret about her life and passion. This secret gives Suraj the much needed opportunity to damage Mangal's reputation. At the same time, it can also dent his marriage prospects with Tulshi. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Shokhi Banerjee's story is very interesting and entertaining. One might feel that the makers revealed almost the whole plot in the trailer. But that’s not the case as the film has a lot more to offer. Rohan Shankar's screenplay is entertaining for most parts. The various twists and dramatic points are well fleshed out. However, a few rough edges remain. Also, the humour quotient is limited. Rohan Shankar's dialogues are hilarious and a few of them are sure to induce claps. Abhishek Sharma's direction is neat. He deserves brownie points for keeping the mood of the film light from start to finish. The film never gets too heavy, even in no-nonsense situations. Also, the film is replete with some very quirky characters and he makes good use of them to add to the fun. Moreover, the film celebrates the Marathi culture and the middle-class lifestyle of the city. It fondly also reminds one of the simple, slice-of-life films made by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. On the flipside, some of the portions of the first half aren’t upto the mark, especially the ‘Bad Boy’ sequence. A few developments are hard to digest, especially the track of the professor deciding not to take any action against his wife despite the latter cheating on him. Also, the manner in which Madhu plans the breaking off the engagement ceremony of his sister is a bit too much. Mangal’s change of heart in the climax also comes across as very unconvincing. Thankfully, the DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE [1995] inspired climax makes up for it. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1148270" src="https://ift.tt/2IAq7Oe" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI starts off on a fine note. The entry of Mangal is hilarious and it neatly explains the dedication towards his work. The film drops a bit when Suraj turns into a ‘bad boy’ and when he gets into detective mode. But it picks up once Suraj starts wooing Tulshi. The twist in Tulshi’s tale is unexpected and gives a nice touch. Post-interval, the patch-up between Suraj and Tulshi happens rather quickly. But the fun continues as Mangal uses a new trick to get back at Suraj. More twists take place in the narrative as new characters get introduced. The finale is predictable but hilarious. Manoj Bajpayee is energetic and is sure to be loved. One rarely gets to see him in such roles and it’s a pleasure how he puts his best foot forward. Surely, this is one of his most memorable performances! Diljit Dosanjh is as always in his element. He suits the part to the T. Fatima Sana Shaikh is quite good in some scenes. But in a few sequences, her expressions are a bit off. This is especially in the scene where Mangal finds out the truth about her. Annu Kapoor (Shantaram Kaka) is impressive and one wishes he had a longer role. Supriya Pilgaonkar (Rekha Rane) is great and contributes to the humour. Manuj Sharma is nice as Diljit’s sidekick. Manoj Pahwa and Seema Pahwa and Neeraj Sood are alright. Vanshika Sharma is funny. Neha Pendse (Kavya Godbole) is beautiful and has a crucial part in which she does very well. Vijay Raaz (Chinmay Godbole) is arguably the funniest part about the film. Sadly, he’s hardly there and on top of that, his character is not utilized well. Rohan Shankar (Ashok) leaves a mark. Vivek R Puranik (Ashok's father), Harsha Gupte (Ashok's mother) and Anjali Ujawane (Vatsavitri Lady) are fine. Abhishek Banerjee (Dinesh) is okay in the cameo. Karishma Tanna is sizzling in the special number. Javed-Mohsin's music is poor. <em>'Basanti'</em> (composed by Kingshuk Chakravarty) is foot-tapping while the title track is catchy. <em>'Waareya'</em> works because it’s well shot. Same goes for <em>'Ladki Dramebaaz Hai'</em>. <em>'Bad Boys'</em> is disappointing. Kingshuk Chakravarty's background score is excellent, especially the theme music used in Manoj Bajpayee’s scenes. Anshuman Mahaley's cinematography is first-rate. Rajat Poddar's production design is authentic and reminds one of the 90s. Vijay Ganguly's choreography is appealing in <em>'Basanti'</em>.  Jia Bhagia and Mallika Chauhan's costumes are realistic for all the characters. Fatema’s clothes however don’t seem to be of 1995 but nevertheless, looks glamorous. Rameshwar Bhagat's editing is fair. On the whole, SURAJ PE MANGAL BHARI is a decent entertainer and a clean family film that works because of its plot, the depiction of the mid-90s era and the performances.

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Movie Review: Ludo

Director Anurag Basu’s previous film JAGGA JASOOS [2017] didn’t impress the audiences and was also criticized for going overbudget and for being in production for nearly 3-4 years. However, Bollywood didn’t lose trust in him thanks to his good-hearted nature and also because his overall track record has been great. He has helmed some of the most significant films in last 20 years like MURDER [2004], GANGSTER [2006], LIFE IN A METRO [2007] and BARFI [2012]. Hence, it’s no wonder that he got an ensemble cast in place for his next, LUDO. It was unofficially referred to as LIFE IN A METRO 2 as just like the 2007 flick, this film also features multiple stories which are connected to each other in some manner. However, while LIFE IN A METRO was a slice of life fare, the trailer of LUDO indicates that it’s in a wacky, crime comedy space. So does LUDO manage to entertain and enthral viewers? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1147871 size-full" title="Movie Review: Ludo" src="https://ift.tt/38zu5kU" alt="Movie Review: Ludo" width="720" height="450" /> LUDO is the story of quirky characters and how their life gets interlinked in a series of bizarre circumstances. Alok Kumar Gupta aka Aalu (Rajkummar Rao) loves Pinky (Fatima Sana Shaikh) like crazy since childhood. Sadly for him, Pinky ditches him and marries Manohar Jain (Paritosh Tripathi). It’s been three years since she’s hitched and she even has a son. Yet, Aalu continues to love her. Pinky, however, is not happy with Manohar. She gets suspicious that he’s having an affair. However, he lies to her by saying that he goes out to meet his friend, Bhinder (Saurabh Sharma). One day, she follows him. He realizes he’s being followed and hence has no choice but to drive to Bhinder’s villa. Pinky realizes that Manohar isn’t lying and leaves. Manohar then goes to meet his girlfriend, Sambhavi (Geetanjali Mishra). Minutes after he leaves, Sattu (Pankaj Tripathi), a dreaded gangster, arrives and kills Bhinder and his wife. Rahul Awasthi (Rohit Suresh Saraf), a sales executive in a hypermarket, who is kicked out of his house for non-payment of dues, happens to take refuge at the Bhinder villa at the same time. While leaving, Sattu takes him hostage to his sprawling hideout in the middle of a river. While he’s on his way, he kidnaps a person named Bhanu (Bhanu Uday) hostage as he has failed to repay him Rs. 90 lakhs that he owed. He also tells Bhanu’s wife Asha (Asha Negi) that she should tell Bittu (Abhishek A Bachchan) to meet him. The next day, cops spot Manohar’s car in Bhinder villa and conclude that he’s the murderer. He’s arrested by inspector Sukumar Sinha (Ishtiyak Arif Khan). Pinky ruins it by telling the cops that she saw Manohar entering the villa. Manohar, however, tells her at this point that he was with Sambhavi. He pleads her to meet Sambhavi and confess to the cops the truth and only then he’ll be able to get out of custody. Sambhavi, however, refuses to even admit that she has even met Manohar ever. With no other option, Pinky approaches Aalu for help. On the other hand, Asha meets Bittu. Bittu and Asha were married at one point and even have a daughter, Ruhi. Bittu used to work for Sattu but after he fell in love with Asha, he quit. Sattu didn’t like it and he got Bittu arrested. Asha then married Bhanu and became the father of Ruhi. On Asha’s request, Bittu goes to Sattu’s hideout. At this point, Akash Chauhan (Aditya Roy Kapur) comes to meet Sattu. Akash finds out that a porn clip featuring him and Shruti Choksi (Sanya Malhotra), with whom he had a fling once, is viral. He first approaches inspector Sukumar Sinha. But he tells her to bring Shruti to file the FIR. Shruti is getting married in five days to a wealthy chap named Shekhar (Aman Bhagat) and when he meets her and tells the truth, she is livid. Hence, he approaches Sattu. Sattu assures him that his work will be done. As Akash leaves and Bittu enters, a loud explosion takes place there because of Rahul, who had gone to the kitchen to prepare tea and left the gas on. Akash and Bittu escape with minor injuries but Sattu gets grievously hurt. Yet, Sattu manages to take a nurse, Sheeja Thomas (Pearle Maaney) and Rahul hostage. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Anurag Basu's story is promising and sounds fantastic on paper. Anurag Basu's screenplay tries to do justice but succeeds only in parts. There’s no doubt that a lot of hard work has gone in connecting the dots and in ensuring the various parallel stories converge at interesting points in the narrative. While a few of them arrest attention, there are several such intersections which seem to have been done just for the heck of it. Samrat Chakraborty's dialogues are well worded and add to the humour and drama. Anurag Basu's direction is decent. He tries his best to ensure the film stands out not just with the script but also by filling the narrative with some creatively executed scenes. The manner in which he takes his time to establish the characters and then inform viewers how they are related to each other is smartly done. On the flip side, this also gets a bit too much after a point. Also, in order to be unpredictable and quirky, the director takes a lot of cinematic liberties. The manner in which Aalu especially manages to commit crime after crime, to the extent of even killing cops, and he never gets nabbed is too hard to believe. The same kind of unconvincing moments are also a part of the other stories. Moreover, a few stories don’t work individually, and that further mars the impact. LUDO begins in an interesting manner as all the main characters are presented by two mysterious, Ludo-loving men. It takes a while to comprehend how each of them are related to each other and it becomes clear as the film progresses. Sadly, not all tracks work equally. The Aditya Roy Kapur-Sanya Malhotra track is the most interesting. The circumstances which compel them to be together and their conversations make for an interesting watch. The Abhishek Bachchan track is the weakest of all and simply doesn’t work. The Pankaj Tripathi story commences on a rocking note. But it loses steam once he gets admitted into the hospital. Also, the way he manages to escape death everytime is too hard to digest, even in a quirky film like this. The Rajkummar Rao-Fatima Sana Shaikh track has its share of interesting moments but is also unconvincing. Rajkummar’s sacrificial nature should have ideally made us teary-eyed but that doesn’t happen. Lastly, the Rohit Suresh Saraf- Pearle Maaney story is bland, except for some occasional quirky moments. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1147872" src="https://ift.tt/2IuA5R6" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> Abhishek A Bachchan is not in complete form. The scenes of him losing his temper don’t seem convincing; he did a similar act in a much better way in YUVA [2004]. Later on, his performance however gets better but is still let down by the script. Aditya Roy Kapur is apt for the part. His laidback persona works for this role. Rajkummar Rao (credited in the film as Raj Kumar Rao) tries his best to rise above the script. The manner in which he tells Pinky how he turned into a Mithun Chakraborty fan for her is cute. Pankaj Tripathi plays the kind of a role which he has played before in MIRZAPUR but here, his character has a quirk that makes his performance worthwhile. Also the use of the song 'O Beta Ji' for his scenes gives a nice touch. Sanya Malhotra is lovely as a practical girl who wants to settle with a rich guy. Fatima Sana Shaikh leaves a huge mark. Rohit Suresh Saraf hardly has any dialogues but one might not even realize this aspect. His screen presence is too good. Pearle Maaney makes an amazing Bollywood debut and looks ravishing in the second half. Ishtiyak Arif Khan tries too hard to be funny but doesn’t work. Child actor Inayat Verma (Mini) has a crucial part and delivers a splendid performance. Also, it’s after ages that we got a chance to see such a well-written role for a child actor. Shalini Vatsa (Latha Kutty) is a surprise of the film. Paritosh Tripathi gets to shine in the beginning and climax. Asha Negi and Bhanu Uday get limited scope. Saurabh Sharma, Bhanu Uday, Geetanjali Mishra, Aman Bhagat, Varun Verma (Mini's father), Mamta Verma (Mini's mother) and Rajiv Mishra (hotel receptionist) are decent. Shivaaji Satam reprises the role of a CID officer which he has played on TV but he has a blink-and-miss appearance. Lastly, Rahul Bagga (Chitragupt) and Anurag Basu (Yamraj) are entertaining. Pritam's music isn’t of the chartbuster variety. 'Aabaad Barbaad' is the most memorable. The rest of the songs like 'Meri Tum Ho', 'Tere Sirhane', 'Dil Julaha' and 'Humdam' are poor. Pritam’s background score however is way better. Allan Amin's action is first-rate and is not too gory. Ashish Dawyer's costumes are realistic yet appealing. NY VFXWalla's VFX could have been better. Anurag Basu's production design is neat. The different episodes of the film are shot in different cities but set in one town. Yet, due care has been taken to ensure that all the locales look like they are situated in one place. Anurag Basu and Rajesh Shukla's cinematography also works well in this aspect. Ajay Sharma's editing is uncomplicated and the various tracks and stories are neatly woven into the narrative. On the whole, LUDO is interesting and entertaining in parts and consists of unpredictable scenes and bravura performances. But due to a few poor tracks and unconvincing moments, the desired impact is not made. A marginal one time watch.

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Movie Review: Ginny Weds Sunny

Many moviegoers might not be familiar with producer Vinod Bachchan. But he has a major contribution to Bollywood as he was the producer of the much loved romcom, TANU WEDS MANU [2011]. He’s now back with another flick with a similar sounding title, GINNY WEDS SUNNY. TANU WEDS MANU worked big time due to the chemistry between the leads, supreme writing and chartbuster music. Does GINNY WEDS SUNNY manage to reach to the level of TANU WEDS MANU? Or does it to fail to entice viewers? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1138341 size-full" title="Movie Review: Ginny Weds Sunny" src="https://ift.tt/2GwR5Wk" alt="Movie Review: Ginny Weds Sunny" width="720" height="450" /> GINNY WEDS SUNNY is the story of a couple amidst loads of confusion and madness. Satnam Sethi aka Sunny (Vikrant Massey) lives with his father Pappi (Rajeev Gupta), mother Rita (Menka Kurup) and sister Nimmi (Mazel Vyas) in Delhi. Sunny works with his father in their family hardware store. Sunny, however, loves cooking and wants to start a restaurant named ‘Tilak Nagar Tandoori Nights’. Pappi makes it clear that he’ll agree to finance Sunny’s dreams only after he gets married. Sunny is interested in a girl named Sanya (Venus Singh) but she backs off when she finds out that he wants to marry her only to fulfil his restaurant dream. In the same neighbourhood lives Shobha Juneja (Ayesha Raza), a matchmaker. Sadly, she is not able to find a match for her own daughter, Simran aka Ginny (Yami Gautam). Ginny is against arranged marriage and wants to fall in love before getting hitched. Sunny has had a crush on Ginny since they were in school. When Pappi asks Shobha to find a match for Sunny, she decides to hook him up with Ginny. Sunny is more than ready, obviously. Shobha then guides him on how to win her heart. Sunny gets going but one day realizes that Ginny is still friends with Nishant Rathee (Suhail Nayyar). Both had broken up 1 ½ years ago but are still quite close and confused about their status. Sunny gets disheartened but Shobha tells him to keep trying. Slowly, Ginny warms up to Sunny and even invites him to join her and her friends for a trip to Mussoorie. This trip brings Ginny and Sunny even closer. There comes a moment where they are about to get intimate, with Ginny even almost agreeing to marry Sunny. Sadly, this is when Nishant lands up. He proposes marriage to Ginny. In shock, Ginny fails to utter a word and ends up wearing the ring which Nishant offers her. Sunny gets the shock of his life. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora's story is routine. But the Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora's screenplay is very entertaining. The writers have tried their best to add some novel moments throughout the narrative to keep the interest going. This is no easy task especially when the basic plot has been beaten to death. Hence, the writers surely deserve kudos for managing to do so much with the characters and plot points so that audiences don’t get a been-there-done-that feeling. Having said that, a few sequences still turn out to be predictable. The gurudwara episode, though moving, is something that audiences would anticipate from a mile away. The same goes for some of the developments in the climax. Navjot Gulati and Sumit Arora's dialogues are hilarious, clean and very witty and add to the entertainment quotient. Puneet Khanna’s direction is simple and uncomplicated. The first-time director handles a lot of scenes with panache. The pace of the film is neither too fast nor too slow and the way Ginny and Sunny fall for each other seems very organic. Just like the writers, even he tries to incorporate novel touches to the narrative. One of the most interesting bits in this regard is how even the third wheel character of Nishant also gets footage in the sad song in the second half! On the flipside, the 125 minute long film could have been shorter by 5 or 10 minutes especially in the second half. A few cinematic liberties are hard to digest. For instance, it’s bewildering that a smart girl like Ginny never realized even for a moment that Sunny didn’t coincidentally ended up meeting her everywhere and that it was all planned. Secondly, the manner in which Sunny takes her out for one full day, a day before her wedding with Neha Gulati (Isha V Talwar), was strange, especially since we don’t see anyone from Neha’s side asking about his whereabouts at all. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1138342 size-full" title="Movie Review: Ginny Weds Sunny" src="https://ift.tt/36NCe4c" alt="Movie Review: Ginny Weds Sunny" width="720" height="450" /> GINNY WEDS SUNNY begins on a very fine note and immediately introduces the characters with all their flaws, qualities and challenges. Ginny’s entry scene particularly is funny. What’s interesting is that not just the leads but even the supporting characters contribute to the film’s entertainment quotient. This is particularly in the case of Pappi and Shobha and the dynamic they share. The scenes of Shobha turning ‘love guru’ for Sunny make for a great watch. The Mussoorie episode is sweet. The scene where Nishant proposes Ginny is dramatic, and probably would have been the film’s interval point had it released in cinemas. Post-interval, the film drops a bit and also the humour lessens. However, a few scenes stand out like the drama at Ginny’s house where all her love interests land up, and also the gurudwara episode. The finale has some nail-biting moments and adds to the fun. Vikrant Massey gives a superb performance. The actor has mostly been a part of niche films or has been relegated to supporting parts in mainstream films. This is his first commercial film as a lead hero and he does a very good job. His comic timing and his attempts to not go overboard are very praiseworthy. Yami Gautam, after BALA [2019], gives yet another memorable performance. Here, her character is not over-the-top and she performs accordingly. She is riveting in a few scenes, especially in the pre-climax and climax. Also, special mention should be made of Vikrant and Yami’s chemistry. It’s electrifying! Ayesha Raza is in superb form and has a very crucial part in the film. Rajiv Gupta, who recently hammed a lot in VIRGIN BHANUPRIYA [2020], is on another level. His dialogues contribute to the humour. Menka Kurup doesn’t get much scope. Mazel Vyas however leaves a mark. Suhail Nayyar is decent and suits his part to the T. Venus Singh is okay in the cameo. Isha V Talwar is fair. Gurpreet Saini (Sumeet) is funny. The other actors who do well are Sanchita Puri (Prerna), V P Kalra (Piles uncle in metro), Munish Dev Mohan (Neha's father) and Deepak Chaddha (Neha's uncle). Music is decent. <em>'Sawan Mei Lag Gayi Aag'</em> works big time and surprisingly, it looks like a promotional track but is actually a part of the film’s narrative. <em>'Lol'</em> is foot-tapping while <em>'Rubaru'</em> and <em>'Phir Chala'</em> are well used in the background. <em>'Phoonk Phoonk Ke'</em> is well utilized in the film’s pre-climax and finale. Prasad S's background score is in sync with the film’s narrative. Nuthain Nagaraj's cinematography is neat and captures the Delhi, Noida and the metro network well. Ashwini Shrivastav's production design is eye-catching, especially the houses of Ginny and Sunny. Mandira Shukla’s costumes are okay but Amandeep Kaur’s costumes for Yami Gautam are very glamorous and appealing. U&amp;V Media's VFX is average and it could have been better in the hot air balloon sequence. Sandeep Sethy's editing is fine. On the whole, GINNY WEDS SUNNY rests on a routine plot but yet it’s worth watching thanks to its well-written screenplay and electrifying chemistry of Vikrant Massey and Yami Gautam. Moreover, it’s a clean entertainer, devoid of any vulgarity and abuses, and hence is an ideal family entertainer.

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Movie Review: Khaali Peeli

The ‘Mumbaiya’ lingo became famous thanks to films like RANGEELA, MUNNA BHAI SERIES etc. and also the various films based on the Underworld. The lingo has a charm of its own and sadly, very few films have been made of late that are based on the characters mouthing this dialect. KHAALI PEELI attempts to be an exception in this regard. It’s a special film as it marks the debut of SULTAN [2016] and TIGER ZINDA HAI [2017] director Ali Abbas Zafar as producer. The chemistry of the lead actors – Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday – has also got noticed. So does KHAALI PEELI manage to entertain? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1136486 size-full" title="Movie Review: Khaali Peeli" src="https://ift.tt/2GmaOHQ" alt="Movie Review: Khaali Peeli" width="720" height="450" /> KHAALI PEELI is the story of a boy and girl on a crazy night-time adventure. Blackie (Ishaan Khatter) is a cabbie in Mumbai who drives the famous black-and-yellow taxi, also popularly known as kaali-peeli cab. One night, a strike of the taxi drivers is going on. Blackie however comes across a pregnant lady on her way to the hospital. He agrees to take her and her hubby to the hospital in return for Rs. 5,000. While he is on the way, some cabbies catch him red-handed. They inform the union leader (Ashish Varang) who along with some taxi drivers confront him. While trying to save himself from their attacks, he accidentally ends up stabbing one of them. He decides to run away from the city in his cab for a few days till the matter cools down. This is when he bumps into Pooja (Ananya Panday). She stays in a brothel run by Yousuf Chikna (Jaideep Ahlawat) since she was a child. It was at a very young age that one of Yousuf’s customers, Choksi Seth (Swanand Kirkire) had fallen for her and had decided to marry her when she grows up. She, however, is not at all interested in him. She hence steals a lot of money and jewellery from Yousuf and escapes. That’s when she comes across Blackie. Blackie decides to drop her somewhere outside the city and Pooja decides to pay him generously in return. Blackie realizes she has a lot of money in her bag. He has always desired to be rich and hence, he devises a plan to hand her over to Yusuf’s goons. In return, Yousuf’s goon Mangya (Suyash Tilak) promises that he can keep the bag that Pooja stole and he would additionally pay him the same amount as well. The plan is put in motion and Mangya manages to get hold of Pooja. But at that very moment, Blackie realizes that Pooja is the girl who was her first love. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani's story rests on a wafer-thin plot. Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani's screenplay saves the film to an extent from becoming a dated fare. However, the script loses steam in the second half as nothing exciting happens after a point. Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani's dialogues (additional dialogues by Suraj Gianani) are funny and laced with some smart, tapori-style one-liners. Maqbool Khan's direction is stylised and neat and he tries his best to turn the ordinary script into a watchable fare. And he succeeds to do so in the first half. But how much can the direction help when the content is just not exciting enough? Moreover, there are too many cinematic liberties in the film. Initially, one won’t mind but later, it becomes difficult to digest. And although the film is essentially a masala entertainer, it has a bit of a dark setting. This might go against the film’s target audience. KHAALI PEELI’s first half is quite entertaining, despite absence of logic. The trademark masala film stamp is visible in few scenes, especially the way Blackie turns from a kid to an adult. The flashback portions keep the interest going and also the fun conversations between Blackie and Pooja. The intermission point is dramatic. The second half is shorter but this is where the film really slips. The back-and-forth narrative gets too much after a point. The track of Inspector Bhim (Satish Kaushik), though funny, is forcefully inserted in the film. The finale is nothing special and is instead long drawn and predictable. <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ananya Panday on dealing with TROLLS, her Mom’s message, Khaali Peeli, Ishaan &amp; Karan Johar</span></strong> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/2HQGLso" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Talking of performances, Ishaan Khatter is pretty confident. He looks every inch a streetsmart Mumbaikar and he also adds to the film’s entertainment quotient. Ananya Panday looks stunning and does much better than her previous two films. She shows promise and looks convincing in her action scenes as well. Jaideep Ahlawat is decent and is letdown by the script. Swanand Kirkire is strictly okay and his track doesn’t reach a logical conclusion. Suyash Tilak is fair. Same goes for Zakir Hussain (Inspector Tavde). Satish Kaushik’s comic timing is spot-on but the character is added in the film just for the heck of it. Vedant Desai (young Blackie) and Deshna Duggad (young Pooja) do very well. Ashish Varang, Annup Sonii (Blackie’s father Ravi), Vaisshalee Thakkar (Khala) and Kasturi Banerjee (dancer) are decent. Vishal-Shekhar's music is very disappointing. The film ought to have a chartbuster. <em>'Duniya Sharma Jayegi'</em> is okay. <em>'Shana Dil'</em> is played in the background and is forgettable. <em>'Tehas Nehas'</em> is forced but is well-choreographed. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara's background score is much better. Adil Afsar's cinematography is stylish in some scenes. But the visuals should have been brighter. Parvez Shaikh's action makes for a nice watch. Natascha Charak and Nikita Mohanty's costumes are glamorous, especially the ones worn by Ananya Panday. Durgaprasad Mahapatra's production design is realistic. Rameshwar S Bhagat's editing could have been slicker, especially in the second half. On the whole, KHAALI PEELI rests on a wafer-thin plot and is riddled with a lot of cinematic liberties, thus diluting the impact. Moreover, the decision to release the film on a pay-per-view model, that too at an exorbitant price, might go against the film.

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Movie Review: Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare

Director Alankrita Srivastava didn’t create waves with her directorial debut TURNING 30 [2011]. But her second film LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA [2017] got worldwide recognition and also succeeded well at the Indian box office. That an attempt was made by the Censors to make reckless cuts in this ‘lady oriented’ film also caught people’s attention. And now the talented writer-director is back with DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE. It has a stellar star cast and the trailer indicates that it’s in the same zone as LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA. So does DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE manage to entertain and engage? Or does it fail to entice? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1133436 size-full" title="Movie Review Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare" src="https://ift.tt/32JkrsO" alt="Movie Review Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare" width="720" height="450" /> DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE is the story of two cousin sisters trying to survive in an emerging city. Radha aka Dolly (Konkona Sensharma) is married to Amit (Aamir Bashir) and has two kids – Pappu (Kalp Singh) and Bharat (Hearty Singh). Dolly and Amit have invested in a flat in an under-construction building and can’t wait to shift into their new house. However, they are falling short of money and Dolly manages to arrange it from her office bank account through unscrupulous means. Her cousin sister, Kaajal (Bhumi Pednekar) moves in with them after she runs away from her family home in Darbhanga to avoid marriage. After being unsuccessful in finding a decent job, Dolly has no choice but to get employment in a Friendship club’s call centre. Here, she is rechristened as Kitty. She also moves out of Dolly’s house after Amit touches her inappropriately. In the PG, she befriends Shazia (Kubbra Sait) and begins to hang out with her and her boyfriend, DJ Teja (Karan Kundrra). At her workplace, she comes across Pradeep (Vikrant Massey) and she falls for him. Dolly meanwhile is unsatisfied with her sex life and she gets attracted to Osman Ansari (Amol Parashar), a young delivery boy. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Alankrita Srivastava's story is decent. The attempt to make a comment on patriarchy and the ills existing in our society is praiseworthy. But Alankrita Srivastava's screenplay doesn’t do justice to the plot. There’s no proper flow to the writing and things happen in the film at random. Also, there are far too many subplots and not at all of them impress. Also, a few plot points don’t have a logical conclusion, especially the one about Dolly’s dream flat. Alankrita Srivastava's dialogues are sharp and to the point. Alankrita Srivastava's direction is average. She was in a far better form in LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA, possibly also because she was equipped with a far better script. In DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE, the script is not watertight, with only a few scenes really making the impact. Moreover, the biggest problem with the film is that Alankrita tries too hard to make the film as scandalous as possible. Almost everyone in the film is having a wild life – Dolly is fantasizing about a young boy and stealing money from office for her dream flat, her mother (Neelima Azeem) had left her husband to be with her lover, Kitty is selling romance for a living, Shazia is having short-term relationships while Dolly’s work colleague Juhi (Pavleen Gujral) doubles up as an escort. Moreover, Dolly’s son Pappu is a cross dresser. Amit and Pradeep, meanwhile, also have their share of dark secrets. The attempt here is to not judge or be regressive. But when almost all the characters in the film are having a scandalous double life, it becomes too much to digest. And not to forget, there’s also a political angle and that further makes things unconvincing. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1133437" src="https://ift.tt/2RFdYsg" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE begins on an interesting note and in no time, we get acquainted with the characters of Dolly and Kitty and also their relationship with each other. The first half is quite scattered and one won’t complain as one assumes that the director is trying to explain the setting and building up. But the same happens in the second half as well. On the positive side, a few scenes are well executed like Kitty’s first day at the call center, Dolly’s confrontation with her mother, the drama at the police station and Dolly and Kitty pouring their heart out on the rooftop. One expects the climax to be smashing but the way the events unfold are difficult to digest. To see all the main characters of the film, some of them from different cities or parts of the town, assembling at the same place is laughable. If this was a Priyadarshan film, it would have made still sense. But in a realistic film like this, it’s too much. The film’s final scene is sweet but not enough to enhance the impact. The performances however save the day to an extent. Konkona Sensharma as always does very well and gets into the skin of her character. Bhumi Pednekar too puts her best foot forward and leaves a huge mark. Aamir Bashir is dependable. Amol Parashar is endearing while Vikrant Massey is first-rate in a supporting role. Kubbra Sait is quite good and it’s high time she is given lead roles in films. Karan Kundrra is decent in a small role. Kalp Shah has a challenging role but pulls it off nicely. Hearty Singh gets no scope. Neelima Azeem is excellent though she appears in just one scene. Pavleen Gujral, Prabhat Raghunandan (Billa), Ghanshyam Pandey (Shahnawaz Pradhan), Nutan Surya (Nancy; old-aged employee in the call center) and Brij Bhushan Shukla (property broker) are okay. The songs are forgettable. <em>'Khwabida</em>' gets registered a bit while <em>'Neet Ve'</em>, <em>'Bimari'</em> and <em>'Rap Battle'</em> fail to impress. Mangesh Dhakde's background score is subtle and effective. John Jacob Payyapalli's cinematography is neat and well done. Tiya Tejpal's production design is realistic and in sync with the film’s setting. Same goes for Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes. Charu Shree Roy's editing is passable but too quick at places. On the whole, DOLLY KITTY AUR WOH CHAMAKTE SITARE has an important underlying message but the attempt to forcefully scandalize and politicize the narrative takes away the impact. This very reason, however, might also make the film a talking point.

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Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl

In many parts of the world, women have faced discrimination in every field and India, sadly, is no exception. But at the same time, India is also full of inspiring stories of those women who fought the challenges posed due to gender discrimination and yet emerged victorious. Bollywood, off late, has taken keen interest in such films. Last year saw two such inspiring films release in the form of MANIKARNIKA – THE QUEEN OF JHANSI and SAAND KI AANKH. As for 2020, just a couple of weeks back, we got a chance to witness the adventures of a ‘Human Computer’ in SHAKUNTALA DEVI. And now, get ready for GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL, a tale of a Kargil war hero. So does GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL manage to entertain and thrill the audiences? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1125478 size-full" title="Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Movie-Review-Gunjan-Saxena-–-The-Kargil-Girl-2.jpg" alt="Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl" width="720" height="450" /> GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL is about the tough journey of India’s first female combat aviator. The year is 1984. Gunjan Saxena (Riva Arora), who is around 9 years old, is travelling with her family in an aeroplane. She gets a chance to enter the cockpit and experience the magic of flying an aircraft. She decides immediately that she wants to be a pilot. In 1989, Gunjan (Janhvi Kapoor) passes her Class 10 exams with flying colours. She tells her family – father Anup Saxena (Pankaj Tripathi), mother Kirti Saxena (Ayesha Raza Mishra) and solider brother Anshuman (Angad Bedi) – about her plans of quitting further studies so that she can fulfil her dream. Kirti and Anushman disapprove but Anup tells her to go ahead. However, when she applies at a flying school, she realizes that the rules have changed and she’ll have to study till graduation. She applies again after five years but by then, the fees for the course have increased to Rs. 10 lakhs, a figure which is unaffordable for the Saxena family. Gunjan is dejected. Anup then asks her to apply in the Indian Air Force, which has recently started a course to get female officers. Gunjan applies and emerges as the only one who gets selected. She then successfully completes her training and then heads to Udhampur Air Force Station in Jammu and Kashmir. Here, she faces massive discrimination over her gender. The fellow officers refuse to fly with her, fearing that she might jeopardize the sortie and crash. Her flight commanding officer Dileep Singh (Vineet Kumar Singh) makes it clear that she’s not equal in the camp. And the commanding officer Gautam Sinha (Manav Vij) also appears to be strict and not-so-understanding. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's story has a lot of potential and the need of the hour. Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's screenplay is watertight. The focus is not just on narrating Gunjan’s life story but also on ensuring that the entertainment quotient is maintained. They also keep the narrative very simple and hence it’ll be easy to comprehend for anyone who watches it. On the flipside, it’s important for character names to be uttered in some way and that’s something that doesn’t happen in this film. The names of Janhvi’s parents or commanding officer Gautam Sinha are never mentioned. In case of Jahnvi’s brother, his nickname Anshu is mentioned but never his real name! Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's dialogues (additional dialogues by Hussain Dalal) elevate the impact and also the humour to another level. Again, the balance is maintained – the dialogues never turn too <em>filmy</em>. Sharan Sharma's direction is superlative and it’s impossible to say that this is his debut flick. He keeps the focus on story, without adding a romantic angle or anything of that sort. He also keeps the duration firmly in check – the film is just 1.52 hours long. And thanks to his narrative, boredom doesn’t creep in even for a moment and there’s a lot happening in the film every now and then. On the flipside, the war scenes in the last 20 minutes could have been more thrilling and terrifying for a better impact. Also, Sharan fails to extract the desired performance from Janhvi Kapoor. More on that later! <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl: The Story Behind | Janhvi Kapoor</strong></span> <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/2DKXEme" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL starts on a tensed and thrilling note. Gunjan’s entry is heroic and it would have been fun to witness it in cinemas amidst claps and whistles! The film then goes on a flashback mode but before it does, it makes it clear that the country is at war and that Gunjan, despite being able, has been left out in aerial operations. The growing-up years of Gunjan is dealt in a very entertaining and hilarious manner. Several scenes stand out here – young Gunjan in the cockpit, the party sequence and late-night conversations of Gunjan’s parents. However, two scenes take the cake in the first half. The first is when Gunjan doles out Bollywood gossip when asked to comment on current affairs – it’s sure to bring the house down! And the second is when Anup explains to Gunjan the real meaning of patriotism. The second half is where the film gets very grim as Gunjan faces obstacles at the Udhampur base. The film ends on a very emotional note. Janhvi Kapoor delivers a fine performance and one can sense that she has given her best, physically and emotionally, to the film. But she doesn’t have a range of expressions which would have elevated her performance and also the film. On the positive, she is great in the scenes where she fails to reach the tarmac on time or the scene where she confronts Dileep Singh. Pankaj Tripathi is outstanding and this is surely one of his most accomplished performances. He would be loved for his role of a supporting father – every girl would wish for a father like him. Although he’s done great throughout the film, the scene where he drags Gunjan into the kitchen is something to watch out for. Angad Bedi is strictly okay. Ayesha Raza Mishra plays her part well. Vineet Kumar Singh as usual gives a very fine performance. It’s surprising, however, why his role is credited as a special appearance part. Manav Vij leaves a huge mark and he suits the part. Manish Verma (SSB Officer Sameer Mehra, who trains Gunjan) is memorable. Same goes for Yogendra Singh (Pilot Montu) and Akash Dhar (Pilot Shekhar). The other actors who do well are Riva Arora, Maria Shrishti (Air hostess), Barbie Rajput (Gunjan's friend Mannu), Rajesh Balwani (clerk at Delhi Flying School) and Gulshan Pandey (Chief operating officer at Srinagar Air Force Station). Amit Trivedi's music is fine but mostly situational. There are 6 songs in the film but are well woven into the narrative. <em>'Bharat Ki Beti'</em> stands out and is very moving. <em>'Rekha O Rekha'</em> is hilarious and very witty and also serves as a beautiful ode to actress Rekha. <em>'Dhoom Dhadaka'</em> is catchy but gets wasted as it’s played during the end credits. <em>'Asmaan Di Pari'</em>, <em>'Mann Ki Dori'</em> and <em>'Dori Tutt Gaiyaan'</em> are okay. John Stewart Eduri's background score elevates impact. Manush Nandan's cinematography is stunning and captures the various moods nicely. The location of Georgia works well for the film as it has a resemblance with the Kashmir valley. Aditya Kanwar's production design is rich. Samidha Wangnoo's costumes are very realistic. Vikram Dahiya's action is subtle and not gory at all. Special mention here should also go to Marc Wolff's stunts and aerial coordination. Red Chillies.VFX's VFX is very good. Nitin Baid's editing is topnotch as so much has been packed in 112 minutes and yet, it doesn’t seem like a rushed job. On the whole, GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL is a well-narrated tale of a female war hero of India. Despite some minuses, this flick would touch a chord, especially with the family audiences.

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Movie Review: Raat Akeli Hai

Murder mysteries can never go out of fashion and some of the finest Indian, Hollywood and world cinema has something to do with murder. Last week, we saw casting director Mukesh Chhabra turning director for the love saga DIL BECHARA. This week, it’s the turn of another casting director, Honey Trehan, to don the director’s hat. For his debut, he chooses an intriguing murder mystery, RAAT AKELI HAI. So does RAAT AKELI HAI manage to entertain and thrill viewers? Or does it fail? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1123891" src="https://ift.tt/31carX3" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> RAAT AKELI HAI is the story of a cop investigating a complicated murder case. Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) from Belghat, Kanpur gets a call one night informing him of a murder in his jurisdiction. The murder turns out to be that of the wealthy Thakur Raghubeer Singh (Khalid Tyabji). Incidentally, it is the day of Raghubeer’s second marriage, with Radha (Radhika Apte), who was his mistress earlier. Raghubeer’s first wife Kavita Singh (Natasha Rastogi) had died five years ago in a hit-and-run case that remained unsolved. Raghubeer’s nephew Vikram Singh (Nishant Dahiya) informs that he last spoke to Raghubeer at 11:30 pm. Radha meanwhile doesn’t give a proper reply, which raises the suspicion of Jatil and his colleague Nandu (Shreedhar Dubey). Though the other family members – son Karan (Nitesh Tiwari), daughter Karuna (Shweta Tripathi Sharma), son-in-law Ravi Sisodiya (Gyanendra Tripathi), niece Vasudha (Shivani Raghuvanshi), sister-in-law Pramila Singh (Padmavati Rao) and the maid Chunni (Riya Shukla), too, behave suspiciously, Jatil can’t help but wonder if Radha is connected with the murder. At the same time, he gets intrigued by her and even gets attracted to her. Radha, meanwhile, is despised by other family members and one day she is about to get assaulted at the hands of Karan when Jatil stops the latter by slapping him. This infuriates Ravi and he complains to the local MLA Munna Raja (Aditya Srivastava) who was also Raghubeer Singh’s close friend. Munna finds Jatil’s investigation method unfair and he complains to Jatil’s senior, SSP Lalji Shukla (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Soon, Jatil realizes that Munna Raja is also connected, not just with Raghubeer’s murder but also with the murder of Raghubeer’s first wife. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Smita Singh's story is promising and it also gives one a déjà vu of last year’s Hollywood flick KNIVES OUT. However, it’ll be wrong to conclude that RAAT AKELI HAI is a copy as it was made way before. But the resemblance is uncanny in not just the murder mystery bit but even the house setting! Smita Singh's screenplay is a major spoilsport. The script ideally should have been watertight and tense. Instead, it’s needlessly dragging at several places as the investigation goes around in circles for most parts of the film. Also, the film is quite lengthy with a run time of 2.29 hours. Smita Singh's dialogues are okay. Honey Trehan's direction is average. Technically, he gets the film right and makes good use of the location, setting and even extracts fine performances from his actors. But on the flipside, he takes a lot of time to get to the point as the narrative just needlessly wanders from here to there. A few developments are also very unconvincing. When a murder of this sort takes place, the investigating cop should have ideally grilled each and every person present in the mansion. Instead, Jatil focuses chiefly on Radha and Vikram Singh. In one scene, he does hint that his junior has investigated but it’s never shown. It’s only in the second half that Jatil finally investigates Karuna and others. The kind of question he asks her is something he should have asked on the night of the murder itself! There are many more silly instances in the film. Jatil gets hold of a nursing home report in the later part of the film. A dedicated cop like him should have ideally checked its contents immediately. Instead, he forgets about it and is reminded a few days later when he’s waiting for his train at the railway station! As a result of such moments, the film fails to engage. RAAT AKELI HAI begins on a very horrifying and thrilling note and sets the mood. The introduction of Jatil Yadav’s character and his relationship with his mother (Ila Arun) is funny. The initial scenes of the murder mystery are quite engaging. But in no time, the interest begins to drop. A few scenes do impress and catch attention like Jatil reaching the tannery, Karuna’s investigation and the action chase sequence, but at the rest of times, the film just drags. The last 20 minutes is when the mystery is solved. It’s unpredictable but thanks to the slow pace and long length, the desired impact is not made. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in his element as always. It’s interesting how he tries to add something new in each and every performance and RAAT AKELI HAI is no exception. Radhika Apte leaves a huge mark and plays the role of the mysterious and troubled woman earnestly. Nishant Dahiya is a bit polished but it works for his character. Shreedhar Dubey is okay initially but gets better in the second half. Ila Arun is hilarious and also quite touching. Shweta Tripathi Sharma doesn’t get much scope initially. She, however, makes her presence felt in the second half. Gyanendra Tripathi is a bit over-the-top, as per the requirements of his part. Shivani Raghuvanshi is quite good especially in the later part of the film. Padmavati Rao is decent. Aditya Srivastava is okay but his character ideally should have oozed fear. Tigmanshu Dhulia is wasted. Khalid Tyabji is hardly there. Same goes for Nitesh Tiwari. In fact, his character is nothing to do in the film and is added just for the heck of it. Ravi Bhushan (henchmen) is quite scary and is well-casted for the part. Swanand Kirkire (Ramesh Chauhan) does well in the cameo. Riya Shukla is an actor to watch out for. Baljinder Kaur (Chunni's grandmother) is superb in a small role. Natasha Rastogi and Vijay Kumar Dogra (driver Ramdeen) get no scope. Sneha Khanwalkar's music is forgettable. All three songs - <em>'Jaago'</em>, <em>'Ghoom Charkhaya'</em> and <em>'Aadhe Aadhe Se'</em> don’t have a shelf life. <em>'Ghoom Charkhaya'</em> however does impress a bit due to Sukhwinder Singh’s singing. Karan Kulkarni's background score is subtle and has the mystery feel. Pankaj Kumar's cinematography is terrific and captures the many moods and moments of the film beautifully. Shruti Kapoor's costumes are straight out of life. Rita Ghosh, Vinay Narkar, Niyoti Upadhye's production design is realistic. Harpal Singh Pali's action is impressive. A Sreekar Prasad's editing is very bad and the film ideally should have been 30-40 minutes shorter. On the whole, RAAT AKELI HAI is a slow, lengthy and flawed murder mystery. The only saving grace are the performances and the climax.

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