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Movie Review: Jayeshbhai Jordaar Despite featuring some ‘jordaar’ moments and performances , JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR suffers from inconsistent writing

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR is the story of an unusual hero. Jayeshbhai (Ranveer Singh) lives in Pravingarh, Gujarat with his wife Mudra (Shalini Pandey), daughter Siddhi (Jia Vaidya), father (Boman Irani) and mother Yashoda (Ratna Pathak Shah). Jayeshbhai’s father is the sarpanch of Pravingarh and is very orthodox and patriarchal. After Mudra gave birth to a daughter, the sarpanch and Yashoda demand a son from her and Jayesh. However, when she conceives again and it comes to light that she'll give birth to a girl, she is forced to go for an abortion. Ultimately, she undergoes 6 abortions. She once again gets pregnant. When the sarpanch and Yashoda head to the clinic to determine the gender of the baby, the doctor claims that she is unable to comprehend. However, she secretly tells Jayeshbhai that Mudra is going to give birth to a girl. The doctor has made it clear that Mudra has become very weak due to multiple abortions. Hence, she won't be able to conceive again. The sarpanch and Yashoda have decided that if there’s a girl in Mudra’s womb, then Jayeshbhai will dump Mudra and remarry. Jayeshbhai loves Mudra and feels guilty for killing six unborn babies just due to their gender. This time, he’s not ready to take another life. On the internet, he comes across a video of a group of men in a village in Haryana. Their old-aged sarpanch, Amar (Puneet Issar), and the rest of the men are unmarried. This is because there are no girls left in the village after the villagers ruthlessly practised female infanticide. Amar, in the video, claims that he’s ready to take care of any woman who comes to their village and would protect them. Jayeshbhai draws a plan and decides to run away with Mudra, Siddhi and their unborn baby girl from Pravingarh to Amar’s village, Laadopur. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Divyang Thakkar's story is the need of the hour and blends entertainment and a social message. Divyang Thakkar's screenplay (additional screenplay by Anckur Chaudhry) is quite entertaining. He takes up a burning topic but peppers the narrative with some light-hearted, funny and emotional moments. As a result, it never becomes heavy or niche. At the same time, the writing is not consistent; the impact falls in a few scenes. Divyang Thakkar's dialogues are hilarious and sharp. Divyang Thakkar's direction is supreme. It’s difficult to believe that this is his debut directorial venture. The execution is neat and impactful. What’s also impressive is the unique nuances incorporated in the film. Scenes like the ink getting mixed in the aata, Siddhi opening the window while Mudra is driving, the truck driver offering the blanket to Mudra, etc or even the way the humble soap has been used to drive the plot shows that Divyang has a very creative mind. On the flipside, the humour quotient dips in the second half. The ‘pappi’ concept is well-intentioned but looks forced. The conservative audience, especially, might not fully accept it. Lastly, thanks to the Gujarat setting, the film’s collections might be limited to certain key territories. JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR starts on a fine note. The intro scene is superb and Jayeshbhai’s narrative explains the whole setting beautifully. The scene where Jayeshbhai pretends to beat up Mudra is unexpected and lovely. The real fun begins once Jayeshbhai escapes with his wife and daughter and pretends that he’s being forced to do so against his wishes. The scene at the dhaba is nail-biting. The intermission point is clapworthy. Post-interval, the track at the home stay is fine but gets repetitive. The film picks up once viewers learn of Jayeshbhai’s plan. The finale is entertaining. Jayeshbhai Jordaar | Official Trailer | Ranveer Singh, Shalini Pandey | Divyang Thakkar Speaking of performances, Ranveer Singh is in top form. The actor has delivered several memorable performances in the past and this time, he manages to bring something new to the table. His mannerisms, body language and accent all enhance his act. Viewers are sure to love this brave, sensitive and smart heroic character. Shalini Pandey makes a fine Bollywood debut. She underplays her part, as per the requirement, though in a few scenes, she does get dominated by the other actors. Jia Vaidya, as the song of the film goes, is the ‘firecracker’. She is adorable and enhances the fun and madness. Boman Irani is flawless in his part. Ratna Pathak Shah doesn’t get much scope in the first half but shines towards the end. Puneet Issar is lovely and puts up a fine performance. Deeksha Joshi (Preeti; Jayeshbhai's sister) performs ably. Jayesh Barbhaya (Bhika) does well, although his track could have been better. Soumita Samanta (Bengali wife) and Swati Das (Doctor) are decent. Vishal-Sheykhar's music is very poor, and one of the chief shortcomings in the film. 'Firecracker' is the only track that stands out. 'Dheere Dheere Seekh Jaaunga' and 'Dil Ki Gali' are nothing special. 'Jordaar' works in the film but won’t have a shelf life. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara's background score is quirky and as per the film’s plot. Siddharth Diwan's cinematography is appropriate. Mayur Sharma's production design is realistic. Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma's costumes are straight out of life. Oh Sea Young, Sunil Rodrigues and Riyaz-Habib's action is subtle. Namrata Rao's editing is fine. On the whole, JAYESHBHAI JORDAAR has its share of ‘jordaar’ moments, performances and the right message. However, it suffers from inconsistent writing. Writer-director Divyang Thakkar manages to deliver a social message in a light-hearted manner and as a result, the film deserves tax exemption. At the box office, it might start slow and will have to depend on a positive word of mouth from its target audience.

Movie Review: Thar THAR is a surprise of the season and worth watching for its plot, direction, music score and the never before seen locales of Rajasthan.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

THAR is the story of mysterious happenings in a faraway town. The year is 1985. In the town of Munabo, Rajasthan, a gang attacks a house, where the daughter is about to get married in a few days. The girl’s parents are killed while their wealth is stolen away by the gang. The next day, a man called Suwa (Akkshay Gunaawat) is tortured to death. Inspector Surekha Singh (Anil Kapoor) is given the charge to solve these cases. With the help of his colleague Bhure (Satish Kaushik), he goes about investigating and trying to find if there’s any connection between the two killing episodes. Meanwhile, Siddharth (Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor), a mysterious man arrives in Munabo. He is an antique dealer, based in Delhi. He needs trained men for his work and his search takes him to the house of Panna (Jitendra Joshi). However, Panna is away in Calcutta, leaving his wife Chetna (Fatima Sana Shaikh) behind. An attraction develops between Panna and Chetna. Meanwhile, Surekha finds out through his investigation that the murders are related to the illegal opium trade and that players from Pakistan are also involved. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Raj Singh Chaudhary's story is simple. However, Raj Singh Chaudhary's screenplay (additional screenplay by Yogesh Dabuwalla and Anthony Catino) is splendid. The writers have peppered the narrative with some intense and unexpected moments. The characters are quite interesting and how they are all related to each other also makes for a great watch. On the flipside, the side tracks are not developed well. Anurag Kashyap's dialogues are sharp. Raj Singh Chaudhary's direction is terrific and takes the film to great heights. Firstly, he deserves brownie points for opting for such breathtaking locales. You have seen films shot in Rajasthan in hundreds of films. However, THAR will blow you away as it has been filmed in never-before-seen places. This itself makes for a fun watch. Secondly, the director treats THAR like world cinema films. The barren locations, the silence, and the idea of an outsider coming to a strange town are an homage to the Western, cowboy films. Lastly, he packs a lot in 108 minutes of runtime. The scene where viewers learn who is the killer might be predictable and yet will leave them stunned. A few developments in the second half keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The finale is nail-biting. On the flipside, the track of Hanif Khan (Rahul Singh) and the entire opium trade is weak. It’s not well woven into the principal narrative. Secondly, the internal struggles faced by Surekha also should have been better depicted. Lastly, a few questions remain unanswered. Thar’s World: An Exclusive Look | Anil Kapoor, Harshvarrdhan Kapoor, Fatima Sana Sheikh Speaking of performances, Anil Kapoor, as always, rocks the show. He gets into the skin of the character and delivers a fine performance. Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor hardly has any dialogues and communicates beautifully through his eyes. The actor has surely evolved and THAR proves it. Fatima Sana Shaikh leaves a huge mark and gives a lovely performance. Satish Kaushik is dependable as always. Jitendra Joshi, of SACRED GAMES fame, gives yet another memorable performance. Mukti Mohan (Gauri; Dhanna's wife) and Nivedita Bhattacharya (Pranati; Surekha's wife) do well, and the same goes for the actor playing Anil Kapoor's son. Mandana Karimi (Cheryl) is nice in a cameo. Akkshay Gunaawat, Sanjay Dadhich (Kanwar) and Sanjay Bishnoi (Dhanna) are okay. Rahul Singh is good but is let down by the characterization. Akshay Oberoi (Arjun Singh) is wasted. Suraj Vyas (Maakhan; dhaba owner), Anushka Sharma (Babita) and Shubham Kumar (Babita's lover) are okay. There’s only one song in THAR and is played in the opening credits. Composed by Shashwat Sachdev, it is quite impressive. Ajay Jayanthi's background score is terrific. The music adds to the intrigue and mystery and is surely one of the most memorable BGMs in recent times. Shreya Dev Dube's cinematography is splendid. The DOP has done total justice to the virgin landscape depicted in the film. Wasiq Khan's production design is realistic. Priyanka Agarwal's costumes are authentic. Salaam Ansari's action is disturbing as per the requirement of the script. Atomic Arts' VFX is convincing. Aarti Bajaj's editing is razor sharp. On the whole, THAR is a film of international standards. It’s a surprise of the season and worth watching for its plot, direction, music score and the never before seen locales of Rajasthan.

Movie Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (English) Despite the pace and length DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS makes for an interesting watch.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, the 28^th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all set to hit screens this weekend. Taking the Marvel saga forward, the film introduces some new characters and looks back at some of the old ones. But, will this new film, keep in line with previous films in the MCU, or will it offer a new take, with new superheroes that take the story forward is what we analyse. Set a few months after the happenings in SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME [2021], DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS follows Dr. Stephen Strange who casts a forbidden spell to erase the identity of Spider-Man from peoples’ minds. However, things get out of hand, as the spell opens up the doorway to the multiverse. With alternate versions of different character being able to traverse between timelines and universes, Strange is left to deal with the fallout. However, things come to a head when an alternate version of himself poses the biggest threat to humanity. Will the combined forces of Strange, Wong, and Wanda Maximoff be enough to save this reality, or will they be overpowered is what makes up the rest of the film. Right from the start, the viewer is informed that unlike the previous MCU films, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS will feature darker characters and on screen preceding. So strap in and gearup for a rollercoaster ride. The film starts with a basic introduction to the main characters of Doctor Strange aka Stephen Strange, America Chavez, Wanda Maximof aka Scarlet Witch. Once established the viewers are introduced the multiverse and what has happened post the sequences in Spider-Man. Starting off the film is a bit slow, however towards the interval the pace picks up. But despite this, there are multiple instances when the viewer is left disconnected, making the on screen visuals a side happening. These instances act as major drawbacks taking away from the film. Post the interval, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS does manage to salvage the situation, with more action and a faster pace the film manages to regain the audiences attention. Sadly towards the climax things go down hill yet again with certain sequences seeming too drawn out. A better edit, could have salvaged the situation as well as shaved off a few minutes from the overall runtime. As for what to expect, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS has some good moments, clap worthy sequences and jump scares that are sure to give the viewer a start. In terms of performances, Benedict Cumberbatch has done well in his role of Doctor Strange, as has Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlett Witch/ Wanda Maximof is equally strong. Especially since she features majorly. Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez has done well, though seemingly underutilized she manages to shine in her limited role. As for the others, each have put their best foot forward in executing their given roles. Rachel McAdams has a much meatier part, as compared to her act in the previous DOCTOR STRANGE film. Director Sam Rami has done exceedingly well with the film. Despite facing the challenge of margining different realities and story versions into a single linear plot, he has done a brilliant job of storytelling. With dark and heavy moments well interspersed with humour and light-hearted banter Rami ensures the film is an easy watch. For the MCU fans, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS has its share of Easter eggs and call back references to both films and comic series that come as a pleasant surprise. Here a special mention needs to be made about the background score. Assisting Rami in delivering a visual treat is the audio score that thrills. With well-modulated highs and crescendos that build up, the climax perfectly Danny Elfman had done exceeding well. A mention needs to be made about a crucial sequence involving musical instruments with an audio track that follows the on screen happenings with precision, both Rami and Elfman have done a fabulous job of coordinating. John Mathieson has done equally well with cinematography that depicts the visuals developed by Michael Waldron who has adapted Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s works from the comics. While, of course the comics would include more, Waldron has touched upon all that is important for the future films. Overall, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS is definitely a must watch. Gripping, visually stunning, dark yet humourous, the film takes the viewers on a rollercoaster ride. For a Marvel fan, this film is almost a peek into what to expect from future MCU releases. However the long drawn sequences and pace issues do considerable damage to retaining the viewers interest. At the box office, the film will do well especially with a rather clear run. However, one cannot expect it to rival the business of the recently released SPIDER-MAN film.

Movie Review: Heropanti 2 Despite lavish production value and fantastic stunts by Tiger Shroff, HEROPANTI 2 suffers from a poor storyline.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

HEROPANTI 2 is the story of the fight between a hacker and a magician. MJ (Tiger Shroff) is a loving and innocent boy who stays in Yorkshire with his mother (Amrita Singh). He works as the bouncer at a bar. One day, Inaaya (Tara Sutaria), a self-made millionaire from the gaming industry, sees him and alleges that he is her ex-boyfriend. She further claims that his real name is Babloo Ranawat. MJ however makes it clear that he doesn't know her at all. However, it comes to light that MJ is actually Babloo. He is an infamous hacker and 2 years ago, he was recruited by CBI officer Assad Khan (Zakir Hussain). Khan had offered him a handsome reward if he helps them in thwarting the plans of Laila (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a magician who in reality is a very big cyber criminal. Laila has designed an app which steals the data of the users and then also usurps all the money from their bank accounts. Babloo infiltrates Laila's inner circle by wooing Inaaya and then getting into the good books of Laila. Babloo gets lured by the money offered by Laila but soon realizes that what the latter is trying to achieve is destroying lives. Hence, he manages to stop Laila in his tracks. In the present day, word spreads that Babloo is hiding in Yorkshire. Laila sends his men to nab him. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sajid Nadiadwala's story (lead writing by Jagdish Sharma) is average. Rajat Arora's screenplay (additional screenplay by Sajid Nadiadwala) however is a big culprit. The back and forth narrative is not put together well and the film is riddled with unexciting and senseless sequences. A few action scenes however stand out and manage to make the film watchable. Rajat Arora's dialogues add to the humour. Ahmed Khan's direction is okay. In the past, he has handled big scale films well but here, he doesn’t seem to be in full form. There’s no doubt that he has executed a few sequences very well, like when audiences learn that MJ is none other than Rocky. The fight that ensues in Rocky’s place and later in the five-star hotel and the parking lot is also entertaining. The intermission point is whistle worthy. A few scenes in the second half also are massy. On the flipside, logic takes a backseat. A few developments don’t make sense, with the film suffering from continuity issues too. The mother-son track is unconvincing. The finale is intended to be nail-biting but fails to entice. Tiger Shroff, as expected, rocks the show. His action and also dance moves are killer and he ensures that the audiences get their money’s worth. He has also evolved as an actor and shines in a few comic and emotional scenes. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is over the top, as expected, but it works as it’s the requirement of his character. His few one-liners will be loved by the masses. Tara Sutaria looks quite hot but is miscast and hams a lot. Amrita Singh and Zakir Hussain are okay. Uday Mahesh (Uday), last seen as Chellam Sir in THE FAMILY MAN is nothing special. The actors playing Dogra, Ranjeet Shenoy, Mark, Zahid, Ustad and Wong are poor. Heropanti 2 | High Voltage Ka Jhatka | Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Nawazuddin Siddiqui A R Rahman's music is not great. The songs however are a visual spectacle. 'Dafa Kar' is well shot and presented and the same goes for 'Miss Hairan'. 'Jalwanuma' is needlessly added. 'Whistle Baja 2.0' works as it’s a recreated version of the HEROPANTI song and also because it stars Kriti Sanon. A Sufi song in the second half is soulful but gives a déjà vu of ‘Kun Faya Kun’. A R Rahman's background score is better. The use of the 'Dafa Kar' theme in action scenes makes for a nice watch. Kabir Lal's cinematography is appropriate. Ram Chella - Laxman Chella, Parvez Shaikh and Kecha Khamphakdee's action is one of the strengths of the film. The fight scenes are not disturbing at all and can be watched and enjoyed by viewers of all ages. Manini Mishra's production design is rich. Aki Narula, Meagan Concessio, Shadab Malik and Ashish Sharma's costumes are glamorous, especially the ones worn by Tara Sutaria. NY VFXWaala, Do It Creative and Redefine's VFX is passable. On the whole, HEROPANTI 2 boasts of lavish production values and fantastic stunts by Tiger Shroff, however it suffers from a poor storyline. At the box office it will appeal only to the fans of Tiger Shroff and action films.

Movie Review: Runway 34 Despite a gripping first half, the slow moving and conversation heavy second half limit the Ajay Devgn – Amitabh Bachchan starrer Rumway 34 a bit.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

RUNWAY 34 is the story of a pilot facing a tough time. Captain Vikrant Khanna (Ajay Devgn) is a pilot working for Skyline airlines. On August 16, 2015, he is in Dubai and the next day, he is supposed to fly to Cochin, where he's also based. Vikrant's friend Sandy calls him to party at night. Vikrant refuses at first. But then, he gives in. He visits a nightclub in Dubai with his pal and drinks a lot. He reaches his hotel at 6 am and goes to sleep. He wakes up just on time and heads to the airport to fly the Skyline 777 flight from Dubai. His co-pilot is Tanya (Rakul Preet Singh). Both are informed before the flight that Cochin is rocked with heavy rainfall. The flight takes off and when it's time to land, Vikrant and Tanya face difficulty. The Air Traffic Control at Cochin advise them to instead land at Trivandrum, where the weather is better. Nevertheless, Vikrant tries to land but fails. He then proceeds to Trivandrum. By then, the weather of Trivandrum also deteriorates. For some reason, the Air Traffic Control team at Cochin doesn't inform Vikrant and Tanya to not head to Trivandrum. By the time Skyline 777 reaches Trivandrum and are apprised of the situation by the Air Traffic Control Team there, it’s too late. They can't move anywhere else as they are low on fuel. With no other option, the pilots decide to land at Trivandrum airport. The Air Traffic Control staff advises them to land on Runway 16. However, Vikrant insists on landing at Runway 34 which is a risky move according to the Air Traffic Control team. Nevertheless, Vikrant sticks to his plan and with great difficulty, lands on Runway 34 successfully. However, the troubles are far from over. The AAIB wants to investigate if rules were broken in landing the flight. Narayan Vedant (Amitabh Bachchan) of AAIB takes up personal interest and decides to drill Vikrant and Tanya. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sandeep Kelwani's story is inspired from true events and is novel as it deals with a flight caught in turbulence and its after effects. No such film has been made on this topic before in Bollywood. Sandeep Kelwani and Aamil Keeyan Khan's screenplay is quite effective in the first half, especially in the aircraft scenes. Post interval, the writing however could have been better and not so talk heavy. Sandeep Kelwani and Aamil Keeyan Khan's dialogues are sharp. A few one liners will raise laughs. Ajay Devgn's direction is decent. He deserves brownie points for gripping audiences in the first half. The way he has kept the focus on the happenings in the cockpit is seen to be believed. The intermission point is clapworthy. The entry of Narayan Vedant in the second half enhances the excitement. However, the courtroom drama, which should have been equally nail biting, drags at this point here and becomes too talk heavy. A few moments stand out though. However, it’s too lengthy. RUNWAY 34's beginning is okay, showing how Vikrant partied a day before. The film gets better once the flight takes off. The scene where Vikrant comes out of the cockpit and pacifies irate passengers is a memorable sequence. Same goes for the intermission point. In the second half, Narayan Vedant's track entry is quite good. In the courtroom drama part, the scene where Vikrant undergoes for a lie detector test and where Tanya blurts out that Vikrant might have had a drink while flying the plane stand out. Runway 34 | Official Trailer 2 | Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Rakul Preet Singh Speaking of performances, Ajay Devgn is in a great form, as always. He is a bit laidback in the initial scenes and the way it changes once he realizes that the plane can crash. His silence also speaks a lot in the interrogation scenes. Rakul Preet Singh is quite impressive, especially in the first hour. Amitabh Bachchan has a late entry but manages to obviously rock the show. Angira Dhar (Radhika Roy) doesn't get much scope. Boman Irani (Nishant Suri) is fine but his track is weak. Same goes for Aakanksha Singh (Samaira; Vikrant's wife) and Vijay Nikam (Tripathi; ATC staffer at Trivandrum). Hrishikesh Pandey (Yusuf Rangoonwala) is wasted. Carry Minati plays himself and is funny. Flora Jacob (Alma Asthana) stands out. Jasleen Royal's music is forgettable. 'Mitra Re' and 'The Fall Song' don't register at all. Amar Mohile's background score raises tension levels. Aseem Bajaj's cinematography is spectacular, especially in cockpit scenes. Despite the lack of space, the lensman manages to come out with flying colours. Sabu Cyril, Sujeet Subhash Sawant and Sriram Kannan's production design is realistic. Navin Shetty, Uma Biju and Radhika Mehra's costumes are authentic. Bishwadeep Dipak Chatterjee's sound adds to the realism. NY VFXWaala's VFX is praiseworthy. Dharmendra Sharma's editing is weak. On the whole, RUNWAY 34 boasts of fine performances, technical brilliance and a gripping first half. However, the slow moving and talk-heavy second half dilutes the impact to a great extent. At the box office, the film will appeal to multiplex frequenting audience.

Movie Review: Jersey While Shahid Kapoor Jersey scores with its performance and touching finale, the slow pace and opposition from KGF 2 will limit its box office prospects.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

JERSEY is the story of a common man with big dreams. In 1986, Arjun Talwar (Shahid Kapoor) is a talented cricket player from Chandigarh. He's in love with Vidya (Mrunal Thakur). Vidya's father opposes their relationship and hence, both elope and get married. Sadly, Arjun fails to make it to the Punjab Ranji team. Arjun's coach and mentor, Coach Bali (Pankaj Kapur), advises him to try next year. But Arjun decides to quit. He takes up a government job and shifts to a government quarter with Vidya. Vidya gives birth to a son, Ketan aka Kittu (Ronit Kamra). In 1996, the lives of Talwars are not going great. Arjun has been suspended on corruption charges. A lawyer has told him to pay a bribe of Rs. 50,000 to get back his job. However, Arjun refuses to do so. Their kitchen is running thanks to Vidya's job at a five star hotel. She is frustrated as she feels Arjun is not doing anything with his life. Kittu, meanwhile, has been enrolled into cricket coaching. One day, he asks Arjun to buy him the team India jersey. Arjun promises to buy him one on his birthday, which falls a few days later. However, Arjun learns that the jersey costs Rs. 500 and hence, it's beyond his budget. He tries to take a loan from his friends but his efforts prove futile. Vidya refuses to hand him the money as she feels that she needs to save for far more important expenditures. Meanwhile, Coach Bali tells Arjun that a charity match will be played between Punjab and New Zealand. The Punjab team is looking for a batsman. Arjun agrees to play the match, especially when he learns that each player will be paid Rs. 1,000. What happens next forms the rest of the film. JERSEY starts on an intriguing note, in present-day Bengaluru. The first half oscillates between the 1986 track and the 1996 track. A few scenes stand out here like Arjun attacking the player who insults Vidya and Arjun applying cream on Vidya’s hands. The scenes where Arjun slaps Kittu and later gets slapped by Vidya are quite moving. The charity match sequence is exhilarating and so is the intermission point. Post-interval, the scene where Arjun heads to the railway station just to shout in excitement is too good. Vidya asking Arjun to fly instead of going by train is cute. The final match is euphoric. The finale is unexpected. Gowtam Tinnanuri's story is touching, despite being a bit clichéd. Gowtam Tinnanuri's screenplay works well at certain places. A few scenes are written exceptionally. However, the writer should have reduced the length of some sequences for a better impact. Siddharth - Garima's dialogues are normal, though a few one-liners stand out. Too much Punjabi has been used, however, which should have been avoided. Gowtam Tinnanuri's direction is fair. The pain and dilemma that the protagonist goes through come out very well. Hence, one is connected to the character from start to finish. There are some heroic scenes in the film that are helmed in a commercial manner. When it comes to the emotional quotient, Gowtam gives his best. On the flipside, he has made a scene-by-scene remake of the Telugu original film. Those who have seen it will not find anything novel here. Moreover, at 171 minutes, the film is needlessly lengthy. A few scenes might make viewers restless, especially in the first half, which has a sluggish pace. The director should have realized that the sensibilities of the Hindi audiences are different and hence, should have shortened or maybe done away with a few scenes here and there. A few aspects of the film are unconvincing. Chief among them is Arjun and Vidya’s strained relationship. Lastly, there’s far too much cricket in the second half, with the commentary being in English. This alienates a large section of the audience. Even 83 [2021] faced the same issue. The makers should have learnt from it, especially when they had the time, and re-dubbed the commentary in Hindi. Speaking of performances, JERSEY rests on Shahid Kapoor’s strong shoulders. The actor has given his hundred per cent and gets into the skin of his character. In several scenes, his eyes do the talking and it’s seen to be believed. JERSEY proves yet again that Shahid is one of the best actors at present in Indian cinema. Mrunal Thakur’s character is not fleshed out properly. However, she performs very well. Ronit Kamra is cute. Pankaj Kapur is quite good and shares great chemistry with Shahid. His dialogues in the climax, however, are difficult to comprehend. Geetika Mehandru (Jasleen Shergill) is adorable and delivers a confident act. Rituraj Singh (Mahesh sir) is dependable. Anjum Batra (Amrit) is nice as Arjun’s sidekick. The actor playing Ravinder and adult Kittu is decent. Laugh Riot: How well do Shahid Kapoor & Mrunal Thakur know Cricket? | Jersey Sachet & Parampara's music is average. 'Mehram' has an exhilarating feel and stands out. The rest of the songs like 'Maiyya Mainu', 'Baliye Re' and 'Jind Meriye' are not memorable. 'Baliye Re' works due to the visuals. Anirudh Ravichander's background score gives the adrenaline rush. Anil Mehta's cinematography is splendid. The off-the-field scenes are shot marvellously by the veteran DOP but it’s the match scenes that work big time. Shashank Tere's production design is realistic. Payal Saluja's costumes are non-glamorous, as per the requirement of the script. Nihar Ranjan Samal's sound adds to the impact. Manohar Verma's action is minimal and entertaining. NY VFXWaala's VFX is fine though it could have been better. Navin Nooli's editing is poor as the film should have been shorter by 20-30 minutes. Special mention should go to Rajiv Mehra's cricket coaching and Rob Miller's sports choreography as the cricket scenes seem very authentic, thanks to them. On the whole, JERSEY rests on Shahid Kapoor’s outstanding performance, the emotional moments and the touching finale. However, due to the slow pace, long length and opposition from KGF - CHAPTER 2 in single screens, JERSEY’s box office prospects will be limited only to multiplexes and the metros.

Movie Review: K.G.F – Chapter 2 Recommended Yash starrer KGF CHAPTER 2 [Hindi] is a blockbuster all the way

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

KGF - CHAPTER 2 [Hindi] is the story of a man who faces new challenges after successfully taking over an empire. Rocky kills Garuda (Ramachandra Raju) in the Kolar Gold Fields, aka, KGF, and takes charge, much to the annoyance of Guru Pandian (Achyuth Kumar), Andrews (B S Avinash), Rajendra Desai (Lakki Lakshman). They had expected to rule KGF and take over its immense wealth. However, Rocky, with the help of the slaves who consider him a messiah, usurps the throne. He even kills Virat (Vinay Bidappa), brother of Garuda and the heir apparent to the KGF throne. Rocky however spares Vanaram (Ayyappa P Sharma), the commander of the army at KGF. Vanaram, angry at first, joins Rocky and trains young kids who become the new guards of the territory. Rocky discovers that there are several unexcavated mines in the area and he orders the men to start extracting gold from these places. The idea is to discover as much gold as possible in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile, Adheera (Sanjay Dutt), brother of Suryavardhan, the founder of KGF, was presumed dead. However, he is alive and arrives at KGF for revenge and to claim ownership. He smartly gets Rocky out of KGF and shoots him. He allows Rocky to survive so that the word is spread in KGF that the terrifying Adheera is here. Rocky recuperates but realizes that no one is able to move out of KGF as Adheera’s men have surrounded the mines. Meanwhile, Shetty (Dinesh Mangaluru), Rocky’s ex-boss in Bombay, has tied up with fellow gangsters across West and South India, and plans to act against Rocky. They are also dealing with Inayat Khalil (Balakrishna), a dreaded gangster from Dubai. How Rocky fights all these elements forms the rest of the film. Prashanth Neel's story is excellent and pays a nice tribute to the angry-young-man and gangster films of Amitabh Bachchan of the 70s and 80s. Prashanth Neel's screenplay is highly captivating. Despite such a vast storyline and so many characters, his writing flows smoothly. Also, he is aware that audiences expect a lot of massy stuff from KGF - CHAPTER and in this regard, he makes fans very happy as he has peppered the narrative with plenty of clapworthy scenes. The Hindi dialogues are very powerful and further enhance the commercial appeal of the film. A few scenes work big time just due to the acidic one-liners. Prashanth Neel's direction is supreme. He deserves kudos for imagining something of this sort and then executing it so well. The way he had shown the world of KGF in Part 1 had already impressed viewers. In the sequel, he takes the grandeur and scale one step ahead. He has ensured that there’s tons of drama and action throughout the film. In fact, there’s so much happening every moment that viewers won’t even get time to blink! On the flipside, the film does get a bit confusing as there are several characters. A few developments are a bit convenient. In addition, the love song in the second half acts as a speed breaker though one realizes its importance in the climax. KGF - CHAPTER 2 starts on a fine note but it gets better with the stylish entry of Rocky. It’s sure to create a frenzy in cinemas. Adheera’s entry is menacing while the first confrontation between Rocky and Adheera is quite gripping. The intermission point springs a surprise and will be loved by moviegoers. The second half begins with a bang. The entry of Ramika Sen (Raveena Tandon) adds to the fun and madness. Two scenes that stand out here are Rocky meeting Ramika Sen in the PMO and Rocky heading to the police station to retrieve the gold piece. The latter is sure to stun viewers! The finale, as expected, is out of this world. Yash: “A supervillain that Rocky would want to be friends with is…”| Rapid Fire | KGF-2 Speaking of performances, Yash is outstanding. His style and his swag are unparalleled. And performance-wise, he’s too good. KGF proved that he has the potential to become a pan-India star and KGF - CHAPTER 2 confirms this fact. Sanjay Dutt is apt for the role. He delivers a fine performance and one wishes that he had more screen time. Raveena Tandon is fantastic and leaves a tremendous mark, despite entering late in the narrative. Srinidhi Shetty (Reena) looks stunning and delivers a worthy performance. Ayyappa P Sharma underplays his part well. Prakash Raj (Vijayendra) is dependable as always. Achyuth Kumar, B S Avinash, Lakki Lakshman, Dinesh Mangaluru and Balakrishna are decent. Archana Jois (Rocky's mother) is lovely. Her track is of utmost importance. Govinde Gowda is quite nice as the peon. Malavika Avinash (Deepa Hegde; journalist) is convincing. Rao Ramesh (Raghavan; CBI officer) is memorable, especially in the scene where he tells Ramika that she should take the KGF matter seriously. Ravi Basrur's music is dramatic and gives goosebumps. 'Toofan' is energetic. Visually too, it works big time. 'Sulthan' is in the same zone as 'Rocky Bhai'. 'Falak Tu Garaj Tu' is okay. Ravi Basrur's background score is quite loud but contributes to the impact. Bhuvan Gowda's cinematography is praiseworthy. The film has a fresh, international look and doesn’t look like a regional film at all. Shivakumar's production design is quite imaginative. Anbariv's action is one of the highlights of the film. Unifi Media's VFX is terrific. Sania Sardhariya's costumes for Yash are quite stylish while Navin Shetty's costumes for Sanjay Dutt are unique and novel. Ashwin Mawle and Hassan Khan's costumes for Srinidhi Shetty are glamorous. Ujwal Kulkarni's editing is razor sharp. On the whole, KGF - CHAPTER 2 [Hindi] is a blockbuster all the way. The film has already generated a tremendous craze and historic advance sales due to the hype, popularity of the first part, mass element and of course Yash’s stylish avatar. At the box office, it is sure to take a historic opening and emerge as one of the biggest blockbusters ever, challenging even the numbers of the pre-pandemic record grossers. Recommended! KGF - CHAPTER 2 Movie Review

Movie Review Fantastic Beasts - The Secrets of Dumbledore (English) A throwback to the Potter series, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE is a must watch for the wizard in you.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

Back in 2016, we saw the release of the first film in the FANTASTIC BEASTS series with FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, following this was the film FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD in 2018. Now, we see the release of the third instalment in the series with FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE. Interestingly though, the latest film comes as the eleventh release in the Wizarding Word with the earlier eight films belonging to the HARRY POTTER series. Given the lineage, expectations from the new release have been at an all-time high with viewers and fans expecting answers to questions that have been raised since the release of the first Harry Potter film back in 2001. However, will the new release answer these questions or will it raise more is what we analyse. FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE starts in the jungles of Bhutan with Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) helping a qilin, a magical creature that can see into one's soul as well as the future, give birth. Gellert Grindelwald's (Mads Mikkelsen) disciples, led by Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), attack, kill the mother, and kidnap the newborn, who Grindelwald kills to harness its ability of precognition. After escaping with his life, Newt and his brother Theseus (Callum Turner) are recruited by Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), who is unable to fight Grindelwald due to a blood pact. Along with the two American mage Lally Hicks (Jessica Williams), Senegalese-French mage Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam), and American No-Maj Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) join the team to thwart Grindelwald's plan for world domination. Meanwhile, Grindelwald has sent Credence, to assassinate Dumbledore before the leaders of the wizarding world gather in Bhutan, where the new Supreme Head is to be elected by the ancient tradition of being found worthy by a qilin, who bows to those, pure of heart. Using necromancy, Grindelwald has the qilin it bow to him, thus manipulating the election. He immediately declares war on all muggles and tortures Jacob for trying to assassinate him. Will Albus’ team of mages and no-maj be able to stop Grindelwald’s rise, will Credence finally find out who he is, will Grindelwald be elected as the leader of the Supreme Head are some of the questions that make up the rest of the film. Right from the start viewers are taken deep into the magical world on a rise with Newt Scamander, like the previous film FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE does introduce new beats, as well as feature some returning critter who are joy to see on screen. Much like the previous two films, the latest release integrates the magical creatures into the story line assisting with narration while taking the plot forward. The story keeps a steady pace, while detailing what unfolds as Grindelwald attempts to assume power as the Supreme Head. Through the proceedings, the viewers are taken on not just a visual journey but also an immersive experience as they delve once again into a magical universe, all the while answering questions that were raised in the past 10 films. In fact, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE brings things a full circle as it explains in more detail finer points and references made in previous releases. Peppered with light humour, courtesy Dan Fogler’s character, the film does not become a constant drivel of wizard battles and chases. Director David Yates, along with Steve Kloves has done a commendable job in integrating the magical beats giving them not just titular roles, but rather roles that assist the main characters. In fact, Yates keeps the on screen story moving at a steady pace, while simultaneously introducing new angles and sub plots to the main story line. Done in a fashion that makes the various line interline seamlessly, the film makes for a rather pleasant viewing. Speaking of the film’s screenplay, J K Rowling has returned with Steve Kloves who assisted on the Harry Potter series and the first film in the FANTASTIC BEASTS film. The two who have proved their mastery over the written word have done a marvellous job with the latest release managing to bring back feels of the Potter series that ended in 2011. In terms of dialogues, there really is not much to say. Well worded, brief and to the point, the dialogues convey what is needed while at same time maintaining a sense of secrecy and urgency when required. Coming to performances, the entire cast seems to have put their best foot forward. From Eddie Redmayne, to Jude Law to Mads Mikkelsen each have done a brilliant job with their given roles. The same holds true for the rest of the cast. However, a slight downer comes with the underutilization of Mikkelsen, who has proved over the years his forte of displaying an uncanny menace with a smile. Though at certain times his brilliance shines through, the viewer cannot help but feel his part should have been fleshed out a bit more in detail. On the other side, Mikkelsen does equally well in portraying a softer side to his rather harsh character when required with panache. Dan Fogler who returns as the no-maj Jacob Kowalski, is spot on with his comic timing. Though considerably lesser than the first film in the series, the comic element does manage to leave an impact. A mention has to be made for George Richmond who looks into the cinematography, with sweeping yet captivating visuals the viewer is planted firmly in their seats. If that was not enough, be sure that the viewers are treated to stunning visuals reminiscent of the visuals from the Potter series that depict vast landscapes across the magical universe. Stuart Craig and Neil Lamont's costume design keeps in line with the previous two films maintaining a sense of uniformity. In fact, the duo along with Colleen Atwood have done well to depict the 1930’s era in terms of costumes, styling and setting. Coming to the action and VFX, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE makes for a fun and riveting watch thanks to the seamless VFX that makes wizarding battles look like well-choreographed sequences. While one may want for more, rest assure there are enough battles and wand wielding shenanigans to satiate your appetite for magic. Mark Day on editing has done equally well, while there are times when a sequence could be a bit shorter; Day keeps it light while not missing points. On the whole, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE makes for a riveting watch. For Potter heads, the film is a throwback to the series in terms of visuals, action, adventure, and of course magic. Answering questions that have caused many a discussion, the film is certainly a must watch for the wizard in you. At the box office, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE that releases across 1500 screens stands a good chance to post decent numbers, with a relatively open weekend and first week, and a huge fan base of the series in India.

Movie Review: The Lost City - Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum & Daniel Radcliffe starrer THE LOST CITY is a timepass fun entertainer Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum & Daniel Radcliffe starrer THE LOST CITY is a timepass fun entertainer.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

THE LOST CITY is the story of an adventure novelist who lands up in a real-life jungle adventure. Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) is a reclusive middle-aged author. She has retreated into her shell after her husband’s demise. She writes romance-adventure novels and the protagonist in these stories is a fictional hero named Dash McMahon. He’s portrayed by cover model Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum), a failed actor. However, thanks to being featured in Loretta’s novels, he has managed to achieve a fan following. She has recently published her new novel ‘The Lost City Of D’ and her publisher, Beth (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), has forced her to go on a book tour along with Alan. Sadly, the promotions start on a disastrous note. On top of that, an eccentric billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) kidnaps her. He has realized that Loretta has based her books on actual historic research she did with her deceased archaeologist husband. Based on her writings, Fairfax has discovered a lost city on a remote Atlantic island and is convinced that this is the location of a priceless treasure. He asks for Loretta’s help to decipher an ancient map of the treasure. Loretta refuses and Fairfax sedates her and takes her to the island. Alan, meanwhile, witnessed the kidnapping. He is in love with Loretta and he decides to save her. Thanks to her smartwatch, Alan and Beth are able to find out about her location. Alan hires Jack Trainer (Brad Pitt), an ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative, to help him rescue Loretta. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Seth Gordon's story is entertaining and adventurous. Oren Uziel, Dana Fox, Adam Nee and Aaron Nee's screenplay is effective. The writers have fleshed out the characters of Alan and Loretta very well and their banter is quite fun, while they are being chased by the villain’s henchmen. The dialogues are funny and very witty. Adam Nee and Aaron Nee's direction is first-rate. In 112 minutes, they pack in a lot of action, adventure and humour. One of their biggest strengths is that THE LOST CITY is based in the same zone as some of the films in recent times like UNCHARTED [2022], RED NOTICE [2021], JUNGLE CRUISE [2021] etc. Yet, not even once, do we get a déjà vu of these films. On the flipside, the film’s action scenes could have been better. The film does go on a high during the scene where Jack Trainer attempts a rescue. However, the subsequent action scenes aren’t as exciting. The villain, Fairfax, meanwhile is weak and should have been menacing. Lastly, the finale is unexpected but it might be underwhelming for some. Sandra Bullock delivers a wonderful performance and impresses with her subtle comic timing. Channing Tatum is a pro at such roles and he delivers yet another excellent performance. His entry scene is adorable. Daniel Radcliffe is okay and is let down by the characterization. Brad Pitt looks hot and leaves a huge mark, despite having just a 10-minute role. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is funny. Patti Harrison (Allison, Loretta's social media manager) gets no scope. Oscar Nuñez (Oscar) is okay in a small role. Pinar Toprak's music is fit for a film of this sort. Jonathan Sela's cinematography is spectacular. Jim Bissell's production design is very rich. Marlene Stewart's costumes are appealing, especially the shiny costume worn by Sandra Bullock for most of the film. Action is great in the Brad Pitt track but is average in the rest of the scenes. The other big Hollywood films have set a benchmark when it comes to eye-popping action and THE LOST CITY fails to reach that level. VFX is top-class. Craig Alpert's editing is super-slick On the whole, THE LOST CITY is a timepass fun entertainer. It has the chance of attracting some audiences due to its family-friendly theme, entertainment quotient and terrific casting.

Movie Review: Dasvi While Dasvi rests on an interesting story, message, and the impressive performances by the three leading actors, it turns out to be an average fare due to the flawed script.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

DASVI is the story of an illiterate chief minister. Ganga Ram Chaudhary (Abhishek A Bachchan) is the chief minister of Harit Pradesh. He's sent to jail for indulging in a teacher's scam. Immediately, Ganga Ram tells his docile wife Bimla (Nimrat Kaur) to become the chief minister in his absence. At first, the police in charge, Satnam Tomar (Manu Rishi Chadha) gives him his own quarters inside the jail to reside. He's allowed to eat food cooked from outside and moreover, he is not given any work to do, unlike other prisoners. All this changes once Jyoti Deswal (Yami Gautam Dhar) is made the superintendent of the prison. She is a taskmaster who believes in doing her duty religiously. She compels Ganga Ram to shift to a prison cell and consume jail food. She also orders him to take up the work of making chairs. His picture of making a chair goes viral and he becomes the butt of all jokes. An enraged Ganga Ram orders Bimla to pass transfer orders of Jyoti immediately. However, Bimla has tasted blood after assuming power. She knows that her powers will be snatched away once Ganga Ram is released. Hence, she reminds Ganga Ram that it was he who had transferred Jyoti to the prison after she had beaten up his party workers. Hence, shifting her again would go against him. One day, Ganga Ram finds out that a few prisoners are students and are preparing for upcoming exams. He is also told that those who study are exempted from working. This and his childhood dream of getting a degree prompts Ganga Ram to announce that he'll sit for the Class 10 exams. In a fit of rage, he also bets with Jyoti that if he fails in the 10th boards, he'll never become a chief minister again in his life. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Ram Bajpai's story is promising. Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and Sandeep Leyzell's screenplay, however, is poor. The film is intended to be a comic caper. However, there are hardly any funny moments in the film that’ll make viewers laugh out loud. There are also several loopholes in the script. Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and Sandeep Leyzell's dialogues are sharp, but only at a few places. A film of this kind should have had witty and hilarious dialogues throughout the narrative. Tushar Jalota's direction is average though the message on the importance of education comes across well. He has also handled some moments nicely. This is especially in the latter part of the film. The scene where Ganga Ram’s results are called out is one such sequence that shows that the director has potential. Another track that works is Jyoti and Ganga Ram’s bond and how it evolves as the story progresses. The transformation of Bimla is also quite badass. However, Tushar Jalota should have properly focused on how a shy and soft-spoken Bimla suddenly turned into such a heartless and manipulative person. The change in her personality is too sudden. Moreover, if the makers had shown that Ganga Ram used to mistreat her constantly, then it would have made sense to see Bimla getting even with Ganga Ram after assuming power. But Ganga Ram didn’t seem to be rude to her. The lone scene at the beginning between Ganga Ram and Bimla showed the former actually insisting that the latter should develop an attitude as she’s the CM’s wife. Hence, it’s unconvincing why Bimla is being so unkind to her husband. The whole scam track also didn’t impress as it’s not neatly explained. Probably, the makers wanted to keep the narrative shorter and while they succeeded in doing so, these crucial details were not given due importance which diminishes the impact. ROFL – When Abhishek Bachchan topped the class | Teaser | Dasvi | Nimrat Kaur Abhishek A Bachchan gives a sincere performance. He tries his best to make his act entertaining and succeeds. Nimrat Kaur is a surprise. She gets to play a great role and she enhances it with her performance. The scenes where she takes the CM’s oath and where she blasts a staffperson are too good. Yami Gautam Dhar too does fine and is convincing in the role of a strict police officer. Manu Rishi Chadha is decent. Chittaranjan Tripathy (Tandon; IAS officer) is fine. Arun Kushwaha (Ghanti) does well. Danish Husain (Rae Bareli; librarian) and the actors playing Prem Qaidi and Inaamdar are okay. Dhanveer Singh (Ganga Ram's brother) is wasted. Sachin-Jigar's music won’t have a long shelf life. 'Macha Macha Re' is like the theme song of the film and is well woven into the narrative. 'Nakhralo' is forgettable. 'Thaan Liya' gives the déjà vu of 'Ek Jindari'. 'Ghani Trip' is missing from the film. Sachin-Jigar's background score keeps the mood light-hearted and funny. Kabir Tejpal's cinematography is neat. Mayur Barate's production design is realistic. Sheetal Iqbal Sharma's costumes are not glamorous but look appealing. A Sreekar Prasad's editing is good. On the whole, DASVI rests on an interesting story and message and the impressive performances by the three leading actors. However, due to the flawed script, it turns out to be an average fare.

Movie Review Attack – Part I ATTACK PART 1 works due to the novel concept, action, VFX and John’s performance.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

ATTACK - PART 1 is the story of the first super soldier in the world. In 2010, army officer Arjun Shergill (John Abraham) and his team infiltrates a terrorist camp and nabs a dreaded terrorist, Rahman Gul. His teenage son, Hamid Gul, is found with a suicide bomb. Arjun defuses it and allows Hamid to survive. In the present day, Arjun meets Ayesha (Jacqueline Fernandez), an airhostess. Both fall for each other and begin a romantic relationship. One day, Arjun goes to receive Ayesha at the airport. This is when terrorists make a surprise attack. Ayesha is killed in the mayhem and Arjun is badly injured. Arjun regains consciousness in the hospital only to realize that he’s paralyzed below his neck. He becomes depressed. Meanwhile, he learns that Hamid Gul (Elham Ehsas), now grown up, has been carrying out terror attacks against India. Due to these rising threats, Subramaniam (Prakash Jha), a high-ranking officer in the Government of India, suggests that a super soldier program be initiated. As per this program, a chip will be surgically implanted in a soldier. That’ll make him almost invincible and a one-man army. The Prime Minister approves the idea. Saba Qureshi (Rakul Preet Singh) is the brainchild behind this program and she insists that only a paralyzed soldier can be chosen for the experiment. Subramaniam approaches Arjun who immediately agrees, despite knowing that the experiment can fail. Thankfully, the operation is successful and Arjun is once able to walk and move his limbs like before. Gradually, he understands his strengths and how to use them. Even before he can get fully ready, he’s given a dangerous mission. Hamid Gul and his gang infiltrate the Parliament of India. They take the Prime Minister and hundred others as hostages, including Saba. What happens next forms the rest of the film. John Abraham's story is novel for Indian audiences. No Bollywood film has ever tackled this idea. Lakshya Raj Anand, Sumit Batheja and Vishal Kapoor's screenplay has its merits. The writing is quick and effective. The entire idea of the super soldier is explained in such a way that even a layman can comprehend it. Sadly, the writers mess up the climax. Also, a few plot points give a déjà vu of several Hollywood films in this space. Lakshya Raj Anand, Sumit Batheja and Vishal Kapoor's dialogues are conversational. Lakshya Raj Anand's direction is quite good, especially considering that this is his debut. ATTACK - PART 1 is an actioner and he ensures that the film has enough fights to keep the interest going. He also excels in the romantic portions. The emotional moments also stand out. One can feel Arjun’s pain when he’s confined to his bed or wheelchair. The way he turns into a super soldier and understands what he is capable of makes for a great watch. On the flipside, the goings-on reminds one of films like CAPTAIN AMERICA, AVATAR, INCEPTION and several other Hollywood films. Arjun talking to his AI assistant Ira is similar to Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S., Spider-Man’s E.D.I.T.H. and Eddie Brock conversing with Venom. While the dramatic build up is done in a massy way, the action sequences are westernized. The mass audience might not be able to fully relate to it. A few developments are very convenient. ATTACK - PART 1’s beginning is decent. The film picks up when Arjun woos Ayesha in the flight. Arjun’s accident and the scenes thereafter are moving. The scene where Arjun finally is able to move his hand after the surgery is clapworthy. The same goes for the sequence where Arjun fights the thieves. The intermission point is exciting. Post-interval, a few scenes stand out like the home minister (Rajit Kapur) insisting on agreeing to the terrorists' demands while the army officer opposing it and Arjun fighting the baddies in the library and later in the Central Hall. The climax, as mentioned above, is an anti-climax. John Abraham is in great form, and much better than what he was in his recent films. He shines in the emotional scenes and of course, is at his best while doing action. Jacqueline Fernandez is lovely in a cameo. However, it’s too similar to her role in the recently released film, BACHCHHAN PAANDEY. Rakul Preet Singh puts up a confident act. She has a crucial part to play. Elham Ehsas is okay as the villain. Prakash Raj is quite entertaining. Ratna Pathak Shah is fine and has a crucial part in the first 30 minutes. Later, she disappears. Rajit Kapur is great while Kiran Kumar (army chief) is wasted. The actor playing Rahman Gul is nothing special. Shashwat Sachdev's music is weak. 'Ik Tu Hai' works due to the situation. 'Main Nai Tuttna' and 'Phir Se Zara' fail to register. 'La La La' is the only song that stands out and is quite catchy. Shashwat Sachdev's background score is stylish and works. Will Humphris, P S Vinod and Soumik Mukherjee's cinematography is refreshing and a few takes are memorably shot. Garima Mathur's production design is realistic, especially the Parliament Hall. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are glamorous yet straight out of life. Franz Spilhaus, Amritpal Singh and Amin Khatib's action is one of the strengths of the film. Famulus Media And Entertainment's VFX is terrific and one of the best from Bollywood. Aarif Sheikh's editing is sharp. On the whole, ATTACK - PART 1 works due to the novel concept, action, VFX and John Abraham’s first-rate performance. Hence, despite the limited buzz and a weak climax, the film can work at the box office and take advantage of the clean two-week run.

Movie Review Morbius (English) MORBIUS emerges as the weakest Marvel film due to the routine plot and unexciting script

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

MORBIUS is the story of a genius doctor trying to cure himself. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) is a celebrated doctor who has invented 'artificial blood', which has saved millions of lives worldwide. He is handicapped since birth and is trying to find a cure for it. His research leads him to conclude that mixing the DNA of bats will be the cure that he's looking for. He manages to trap several bats in Costa Rica and secretly brings them to his lab in New York. He begins an experiment on a rat and it produces encouraging results. Morbius then along with his colleague, Dr Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), goes to the international waters in a ship. There, Martine injects himself with bat serum. Morbius gets cured of his handicap but also injects himself with a form of vampirism instead. In a fit of uncontrolled rage, he ends up killing the ship's crew. Morbius destroys the CCTV footage and escapes. Meanwhile, Lucian aka Milo (Matt Smith) is a close childhood friend of Morbius and is also handicap. Morbius had assured him that he'll cure Milo as well. After the episode on the ship, Morbius decides to not use it on Milo. However, Milo is dying to be 'normal' and hence, secretly injects himself with the serum, leading to madness. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless' story is okay. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless' screenplay is weak. The film is filled with ordinary and beaten to death moments that we have already seen in the previous Marvel and other sci-fi films. The dialogues are nothing special. Daniel Espinosa's direction fails to save the film. With such a routine storyline, it becomes crucial for the execution to be a class apart. Nothing of that sort happens here. Moreover, the way the character is connected to the Spider-Man universe looks forced. On the positive side, a few scenes are well executed, like Morbius being injected with the bat serum, the fight between Morbius and Milo in the subway station and the kiss between Morbius and Martine in the climax. Jared Leto is in a good form. Matt Smith is over the top. Adria Arjona leaves a huge mark. The same goes for Charlie Shotwell (Young Michael) and Joseph Esson (Young Milo). Jared Harris (Nicholas) is decent in a cameo. Tyrese Gibson (Simon Stroud) is known for his comic timing but in MORBIUS, his character is lacklustre. Al Madrigal (Alberto Rodriguez) is wasted. Michael Keaton (Adrian Toomes)’s cameo fails to generate excitement. Jon Ekstrand's music is cinematic. Oliver Wood's cinematography is quite nice and keeps the interest going. Stefania Cella's production design is very rich. Cindy Evans' costumes are appealing. VFX, as expected, is out of the world. Action is minimal and this also goes against the film as one expects a lot of fight scenes in such films. Pietro Scalia's editing is passable. On the whole, MORBIUS emerges as the weakest Marvel film due to the routine plot and unexciting script. At the box office, it will find it tough to survive due to the limited buzz and negative word of mouth.

Movie Review Sharmaji Namkeen Despite its shortcomings, SHARMAJI NAMKEEN is a heartwarming film and will leave viewers smiling.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

SHARMAJI NAMKEEN is the story of a retired man. Brij Gopal Sharma (Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal) works as an assistant manager at Madhuban Home Appliances in Delhi. His wife Suman passed away a few years ago and he resides in a middle-class neighbourhood with his elder son Sandeep Sharma aka Rinku (Suhail Nayyar) and younger son Vincy (Taaruk Raina). He’s forced to opt for voluntary retirement though he’s 58 years old. At first, he’s happy with his retired life. A few months later, he gets restless. He’s fond of cooking and one day, he tells his sons that he’d like to start a chaat stall. Rinku gets angry over this idea and hence, Sharmaji drops the plan. Meanwhile, his close friend, Chaddha (Satish Kaushik), asks Sharmaji one day to cook for guests at a friend’s place for a religious gathering. Sharmaji at first refuses but later, gives in. He goes to the place of Manju Gulati (Sheeba Chadha) and cooks delicious dishes. However, he realizes that Manju and her guests are not having any religious ceremony; instead, a kitty party is going on in full swing. An enraged Sharmaji runs away. He gets mad at Chaddha. His anger soon evaporates as Manju calls him and praises his food. He’s also invited to cook during their next kitty session. Sharmaji, hence, starts attending their kitty parties as an expert cook, without informing his sons. He also gets close to Veena Manchanda (Juhi Chawla), who has also lost her spouse, just like Sharmaji. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Hitesh Bhatia's story is lovely. It might give you a déjà vu of similar films in this space like RAJMA CHAWAL [2018], DO DOONI CHAAR [2010], etc. However, the crux and conflict shown are drastically different from any of these films. Supratik Sen and Hitesh Bhatia's screenplay is full of entertaining and mostly light-hearted moments. The beauty of the writing is that it never gets heavy or depressing. A few developments, however, defy logic and are childish. Supratik Sen and Hitesh Bhatia's dialogues are one of the strengths of the film. Certain one-liners are sure to bring the house down. Hitesh Bhatia's direction is of a good standard, especially since it’s his directorial debut. In 121 minutes, he packs in a lot and also gives prominence to the side tracks. A few scenes stand out, direction wise, like Sharmaji dreaming about doing Zumba with the kitty ladies while dancing to 'Baby Doll'. Another scene that stands out in this regard is when Sharmaji realizes that despite being a man, even his freedom is restricted, just like the housewives in the kitty gang. On the flipside, the younger son’s track fails to entice. It seemed like the track of him failing was just added for the heck of it. Secondly, the finale, though funny, seems unconvincing and hence, some viewers might not appreciate it, especially since the rest of the film is in a realistic space. Lastly, as everyone is aware, Rishi Kapoor passed away before completing the film. Hence, Paresh Rawal stepped in. As a result, in several places, there’s a lot of switching that happens between the two actors. There are scenes where it’s Rishi Kapoor as Sharmaji bidding goodbye to his son from the balcony. And then, in the next shot, when he steps into the house, it’s Paresh Rawal playing the same part! Initially, it feels odd to see such an arrangement but soon, viewers get used to it. However, a few moviegoers might not be able to adjust to it as it’s a never before seen phenomenon. A Special Tribute to Rishi Kapoor Ji | Sharmaji Namkeen | Amazon Prime Video SHARMAJI NAMKEEN starts on a lovely note, showing Sharmaji’s retirement. It gives an idea to the viewers about the protagonist’s nature and personality. The scenes of Sharmaji getting bored with his retired life is nothing great but the fun begins once he cooks for Manju. The scene where he gestures Veena about whether the dal is fine is cute. The same goes for the scene where Veena drops Sharmaji and she opens up about her husband’s demise. Post-interval, the scene of Sharmaji explaining the difference between momo and dimsum is hilarious. A few emotional moments stand out in the second hour like Sharmaji and his sons realizing that they are all hiding something from each other, and Veena telling Sharmaji about the importance of family. The tribute to Rishi Kapoor during the end credits is fitting. Speaking of performances, Rishi Kapoor is a delight to watch. He has played 60% of the part and effortlessly slips into the character. Paresh Rawal also gives his best. Juhi Chawla is too good and is sure to win hearts with her performance. Suhail Nayyar is apt for the part and leaves a mark. Isha Talwar (Urmi; Rinku’s love interest) makes her presence felt, despite the limited screen time. Taaruk Raina is okay. Satish Kaushik is dependable as always. Sheeba Chadha is in her element. Parmeet Sethi (Robbie) looks dashing and his performance is first-rate. Aarti (Sulagna Panigrahi) is lovely. Ayesha Raza is wasted. Shrikant Verma (corrupt cop) and the actors playing the builder Jain, Sharmaji’s boss Sikka and Urmi’s parents are decent. Sneha Khanwalkar's music suits the theme and genre of the film. 'Ye Luthrey' is good as the title track. 'Aaram Karo' is quite quirky. 'Laal Tamatar' and 'Boom Boom' are also similarly peculiar. Sneha Khanwalkar's background score is subtle. Harendra Singh and Piyush Puty's cinematography is appropriate. Nikhil Kovale's production design is realistic. Sheetal Sharma and Sujata Rajain's costumes are authentic. 16 Bit Production's VFX is neat. Bodhaditya Banerjee's editing is sharp. On the whole, SHARMAJI NAMKEEN is a heartwarming film. Despite the shortcomings, it will leave viewers smiling. It’ll also benefit and stand out as it’s the last film of Rishi Kapoor.

Movie Review: RRR RRR is a teRRRific entertainer!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

Everyone’s discussing RRR for a solid reason: SS Rajamouli. He pioneered the trend of PAN-India films with BAAHUBALI and BAAHUBALI 2. The second part — the facts are known to all and sundry — holds the enviable record of being the highest grossing *Hindi* film.

Naturally, the expectations from RRR — his third PAN-India film in a row — are massive. Also because it marks the Hindi debut of Jr NTR and it happens to be the second Hindi outing of Ram Charan. Two hugely popular actors of the Telugu film industry.

Both, Jr NTR and Ram Charan reunite with Rajamouli after a gap. For the uninitiated, RRR is Jr NTR’s fourth film with the master storyteller, while Charan reunites with Rajamouli after the mega-success of MAGADHEERA.

There’s a lot at stake this time. BAAHUBALI [2015] arrived with zilch expectations at that point of time. RRR is carrying the baggage of expectations and also has to deliver the numbers, after the historic success of BAAHUBALI 2 [2017]. The important question is, does RRR live up to the lofty expectations?

Like BAAHUBALI [both parts], Rajamouli goes back in time with RRR. The difference is, it’s about two revolutionaries this time. Also, RRR is set in the pre-independence era [1920].

Now let’s come to the point…

RRR is a solid entertainer that doesn’t make you restless, despite a marathon run time. The screenplay is wonderfully constructed, the twists and turns are attention grabbing and the nail-biting episodes as well as superbly executed action pieces keep you mesmerised till the final credits roll. The best part is, you don’t know the plot [Rajamouli hasn’t revealed much either, pre-release], so what unfolds on screen catches you by complete surprise.

The plot, without revealing spoilers. The year is 1920. The British are ruling India. The wife [Alison Doody] of a British officer Scott Buxton [Ray Stevenson] gets impressed by a tribal girl, Malli. She forcibly takes the girl away to Delhi, much to the shock of her parents and the rest of the tribe.

Komaram Bheem [Jr NTR] — who belongs to the tribe — promises to bring back Malli. When the British learn about Bheem and his mission, they decide to trace him at any cost. However, no one knows what Bheem looks like. A police officer, Alluri Sitarama Raju [Ram Charan], takes up the challenge.

Rajamouli’s films are desi at heart and soaked in entertainment. RRR is no different. He knows what his audience expects from him, which explains why every sequence is loaded with entertainment. Wait, Rajamouli also knows well that mass moments minus emotions will backfire, which is why there’s a strong undercurrent of emotions in his films. RRR has it as well.

Rajamouli has a fantastic sense of narrating an epic tale, which is evident when you look at the visuals. The introduction of Ram Charan first and Jr NTR later leave you stunned thanks to the sheer magnificence.

RRR Hungama: Jr. NTR, S.S. Rajamouli & Ram Charan’s most entertaining interview | Alia Bhatt | Ajay Devgn

RRR contains enough worthy material to hold the moviegoer’s attention for most of its run time. The emotional component is well balanced with subtle humour, drama, action pieces and of course, some stunning visuals that leave you awe-struck.

Any hiccups? Yes, the pace slackens in the second act, after intermission. Besides, a few sequences in this hour aren’t too convincing. Sure, it’s an entertainer and one shouldn’t look for logic, but, a few portions lack the impact. Also, Alia Bhatt’s character could’ve done with better writing.

RRR rests on Jr NTR and Ram Charan’s brawny shoulders. Jr NTR is exceptional, pitches a sterling act that doesn’t miss a beat. He gives RRR the much-needed power. Ram Charan is fantastic. Electrifying in dramatic and action moments. Winsome act adds weightage. Also, you are left awestruck by Jr NTR and Ram Charan’s dancing skills in ‘Naacho Naacho’. The choreography of this song deserves distinction marks.

Also, the two actors have dubbed their lines in Hindi themselves and the diction as well as the flow of words are perfect.

Alia Bhatt doesn’t get much scope, while Ajay Devgn appears in a well-written cameo. Ray Stevenson [Scott] and Alison Doody [Lady Scott] are effective as the antagonists. Olivia Morris gets limited scope. Shriya Saran is okay in a cameo.

The soundtrack has a smash hit number in ‘Naacho Naacho’, while ‘Sholay’ [end credits] is an apt track to conclude the film. KK Senthil Kumar's cinematography is spectacular and does complete justice to the scale of the film. Sabu Cyril's production design is superb. Rama Rajamouli's costumes are well researched and the detailing catches your eye. VFX [V Srinivas Mohan] matches global standards. Action sequences are one of the strengths of the film.

On the whole, RRR is a teRRRific entertainer that’s meant for the big screen. The film has the merits to emerge a massive hit. Don’t miss it!

RRR Movie Review

Movie Review: Bachchhan Paandey BACHCHHAN PAANDEY is a definitely a must watch for fans of Akshay Kumar and masala cinema.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

BACHCHHAN PAANDEY is the story of a ruthless gangster. Myra Devekar (Kriti Sanon) is an aspiring filmmaker who approaches producer Rakesh Verma (Ashwin Mushran) for her directorial debut. Rakesh advises her to make a gangster biopic. Myra begins research and this is when she stumbles upon Bachchhan Paandey (Akshay Kumar) who is a dreaded gangster in a town called Baghwa. Myra reaches Baghwa and with the help of a friend, Vishu (Arshad Warsi), she begins research on Bachchhan Paandey. Bachchhan seems too scary and hence, she begins approaching his gang members, Kandi (Saharsh Kumar Shukla), Bufferia Chacha (Sanjay Mishra), Pendulum (Abhimanyu Singh) and Virgin (Prateik Babbar). Virgin is the only one who speaks up and while providing information, he happens to share that Bachchan Paandey was once in love with a girl named Sophie (Jacqueline Fernandez). He claims that after they got into a tiff, he killed her. Meanwhile, Bachchhan Paandey finds out that Myra has been enquiring about her. Immediately, he assumes that she’s either a media person or a police spy. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sajid Nadiadwala's story is decent and had the potential to become a fun entertainer. Sajid Nadiadwala’s adapted screenplay (additional screenplay by Farhad Samji, Sparsh Khetarpal, Tasha Bhambra, Tushar Hiranandani and Zeishan Quadri) is a big culprit. Ideally, a film like this should have been a laugh a minute riot. But the funny moments are few and far in between. And most of what has been passed off as comedy fails to raise laughs. Farhad Samji’s dialogues (additional dialogues by Sparsh Khetarpal, Tasha Bhambra, Tushar Hiranandani and Zeishan Quadri) are average and are also responsible for the lack of entertainment in the film. Farhad Samji’s direction is weak. He handles the grandeur and scale well and shows his brilliance in the action and dramatic moments. However, with the script being weak, the direction also gets affected. There’s little humour and too much of violence, when it should have been vice versa. The story of a dreaded gangster whose life is going to be captured on celluloid gives a deja vu of WELCOME (2007). That was a much loved film with a great script and ideally, BACHCHAN PAANDEY should have been in that league. On the positive side, Farhad Samji handles the flashback portion of Sophie very well. The twist in the tale in the climax is also well treated. BACHCHHAN PAANDEY starts well. The entry of the protagonist is whistle worthy. The film then drops but picks up in the scene where Kandi accidentally leaves the porn DVD in his bag, leading to madness. The scene of Virgin’s murder and Myra eavesdropping arrests attention. Post interval, Sophie’s flashback is cute. The climax is unexpected and unexpectedly touching. Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon & team Bachchhan Paandey’s most entertaining interview & Rapid Fire Speaking of performances, Akshay Kumar delivers an excellent performance. He has the star power that makes him apt for the role. Kriti Sanon looks stunning and delivers an able performance. Arshad Warsi, as expected, is too good and tries his best to up the humour quotient. Jacqueline Fernandez is lovely in a supporting role. Prateik Babbar is decent. Sanjay Mishra tries too hard to be funny. Abhimanyu Singh leaves a mark. Saharsh Kumar Shukla wins hearts especially in the ‘Tadap Tadap Ke’ scene. Ashwin Mushran is fair. Mohan Agashe (Lalji Bhagat) is passable. Gaurav Chopra (Bheema) is over the top. Aroosa Khan (Pinky) and the actor playing the cop Suryakant Mishra are average. Pankaj Tripathi (Bhaves Bopla) raises few laughs in the film. The music of the film is disappointing. 'Maar Khayegaa’ is unexciting. 'Saare Bolo Bewafa' is just okay. 'Heer Raanjhana' is shot beautifully. 'Meri Jaan Meri Jaan’ fails to register. Julius Packiam's background music is memorable. Gavemic U Ary's cinematography is spectacular. The locales of Rajasthan are shot very well. ANL Arasu's action is gory. Rajat Poddar's production design gives the film the commercial feel. NY VFXWaala's VFX is rich. Aki Narula, Sukriti Grover, Puneet Jain, Chandini Whabi and Sambo's costumes are glamorous. Charu Roy's editing is neat. On the whole, BACHCHHAN PAANDEY is a must watch for the fans of Akshay Kumar and masala cinema. At the box office, its business will be impacted due to the blockbuster success of THE KASHMIR FILES.

Movie Review: Jalsa JALSA boasts of fine performances by Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah with unexpected twists and turns

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

JALSA is the story of a hit-and-run case. Rukhsana (Shefali Shah) lives with her husband Rizwan, daughter Aaliya (Kashish Rizwan) and son Imaad in a shanty in Mumbai. She works as a maid in the household of eminent digital journalist, Maya Menon (Vidya Balan). She has been working with Maya, her mother (Rohini Hattangadi) and Maya’s son Aayush (Surya Kasibhatla) for three years and she’s considered to be one of the members of the family. One night, Maya gets late from work. She asks Rukhsana to stay back. She calls Imaad to Maya’s place so that he can be with her. She also calls Aaliya. However, she refuses under the pretext that she wants to study in her own house. Rizwan drops Imaad at Maya’s place and then goes to work. After Imaad and Rizwan leave, Aaliya ventures out late at night with a boy. While she’s out, she suddenly gets hit by a car. The one who commits the accident runs away immediately and so does the boy. It’s only in the morning that Aaliya is found in an unconscious state. She is badly injured and hospitalized. The investigation begins and the cops don’t seem very keen to nab the culprit. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Prajwal Chandrashekhar and Suresh Triveni's story has a certain novelty, and twists and turns that keep viewers engaged. Prajwal Chandrashekhar and Suresh Triveni's screenplay has a niche appeal. Nevertheless, a few developments are exceptional and keep viewers hooked. However, the writing is stretched needlessly in the middle. A few developments are unconvincing. Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal's dialogues are nothing special. Suresh Triveni's direction is quite different from his previous film, TUMHARI SULU [2017]. That film was far more mainstream. With JALSA, Suresh Triveni adopts the arthouse-style execution and it works for most of the film. The dilemma faced by the protagonist, especially, is handled very well. What also goes in the favour of the film is that the trailer has not given away an important plot point. As a result, audiences get a huge jolt in the first 15 minutes. This twist adds a lot to the film and keeps viewers engaged. Unfortunately, the exciting moments are there but are few and far between. The long length is another problem. The 129-minute long film ideally should have been just 90 or 100 minutes long. The climax is tense but could have been better. Moreover, the reason why the film is called JALSA is hard to digest. ROFL-Vidya on Jalsa: “I read somewhere that it’s a biopic on Amitabh Bachchan’s house”| Shefali Shah Vidya Balan has played several challenging roles. However, her part in JALSA is in a different league and she is in top form, as expected. Shefali Shah, too, gives her best and adds a lot to the film with her presence. Rohini Hattangadi is great in a supporting role. Surya Kasibhatla is adorable. Kashish Rizwan is decent. Mohammad Iqbal Khan (Maya’s boss Aman Malhotra) is dependable. Vidhatri Bandi (Rohini George) leaves a huge mark. Shrikant Yadav (More; cop) and Ghanshyam Lalsa (Pradeep; cop) are fair. Manav Kaul (Maya’s ex-husband) is lovely in a cameo. Vijay Nikam (Jalsa Reddy) is okay. Others are fine. Gaurav Chatterji's music gets no scope. Gaurav Chatterji's background score is very subtle and very impactful. Saurabh Goswami's cinematography is a bit raw and it adds to the impact. Ajay Chodankar and Vipin Kumar's production design is realistic. Isha Bhansali’s costumes for Vidya Balan are apt. Sujata Kumari's costumes for the rest of the actors are straight out of life. Shivkumar V Panicker's editing could have been tighter. On the whole, JALSA rests on Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah’s fine performances, and some unexpected twists and turns. However, the long length and certain unconvincing and unexciting moments diminish the impact to a great extent.

Movie Review: The Batman (English) Matt Reeves THE BATMAN starring Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz is a fresh take on the iconic superhero, with the performances and execution being the icing on the cake. Despite the dark undertones, the film has the potential to succeed at the Indian box office.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

THE BATMAN is the story of a masked vigilante. Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) has been operating as Batman in Gotham City for two years. He wears a mask and hence, no one is aware of Batman’s real identity. The Mayoral elections are in full swing and on Halloween, the incumbent mayor, Don Mitchell Jr (Rupert Penry-Jones), is murdered brutally in his own house. He leaves a message for Batman. Lieutenant James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) calls Batman to the crime scene to investigate. The vigilante soon has to leave after Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns) admonishes James for calling Batman at the scene of the crime. Before leaving, Batman has a look at the riddles left by the killer, who calls himself Riddler. While Batman is trying to solve the riddles with the help of his butler and caretaker, Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Pete gets killed. Moreover, Riddler releases the video of his murder to the media. The clues left by Riddler leads Batman to the notorious Iceberg Lounge, operated by a man called Oz aka Penguin (Colin Farrell). Here, he bumps into Selina (Zoë Kravitz), who seems to know a lot about the happenings in the city. Soon, another murder takes place and Batman runs out of time to solve the killings and nab the Riddler. However, the superhero also realizes that Riddler is targeting only those who have been corrupt and who have contributed to the downfall of the city in some way or the other. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Matt Reeves and Peter Craig's story is praiseworthy. Matt Reeves and Peter Craig's screenplay retains the dark element associated with the superhero and also incorporates the entertaining and thrilling moments. At one point, Matt had described his version of THE BATMAN as a mix between a ‘detective story, action movie and psychological thriller’ and all these three aspects are neatly woven in the narrative. The dialogues are hard-hitting and pack a punch. Matt Reeves's direction is first-rate. Christopher Nolan’s BATMAN series is still fresh in everyone’s minds and it took a fresh perspective on the lives and adventures of the superhero. Matt deserves brownie points as his version is quite different. He handles the scenes with such deftness and novelty that one doesn’t feel the need to draw a comparison with Nolan’s films. Also, the way he showcases the underbelly of Gotham City and the confrontations of Batman with the villains is captivating and doesn’t give any sort of déjà vu. On the flipside, the film is too long at 176 minutes. He does pepper the narrative with some great scenes and hence, the film doesn’t seem boring or dragging. However, a shorter run time would have had a better impact. Moreover, the climax is tense as the flood element was a great idea. However, it was not properly utilized. The makers could have shown even more widespread destruction as that would have made for a nail-biting watch. Lastly, since it’s a dark action thriller, it’s not entirely a family entertainer like Marvel superhero films due to which its box office prospects in India would be limited. THE BATMAN starts on a fine note but it takes a while to get used to the setting and the voiceover style narrative. The initial two murders do engage but the film starts arresting attention when Selina goes to 44 Below secret club to investigate. The funeral scene is the best part of the film and the action and chase sequence that follows is superb. Post-interval, the film drops for some time and picks up with the scene between Batman and Alfred in the hospital. The madness outside the Iceberg Lounge and the scene thereafter is too good. The finale, though it could have been better, is thrilling. The film ends with the promise of a sequel. Robert Pattinson is splendid as Batman. Several actors have played this part in the past and have won accolades. It was a big challenge to take up this role. Robert, however, is flawless and plays it differently as compared to those who played the superhero in the earlier films. Even as Bruce Wayne, he brings freshness. Zoë Kravitz puts up a confident act and delivers an able performance. Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright are dependable. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable and does a fine job. Paul Dano (Edward Nashton) has a crucial part and dominates at several places in the second half. John Turturro (Carmine Falcone) is great while Peter Sarsgaard (Gil Colson, DA) leaves a mark. Jayme Lawson (Bella Reál) is memorable in a small role. Hana Hrzic (Annika), Rupert Penry-Jones and Alex Ferns are decent. Michael Giacchino's music has a cinematic feel and works well. Greig Fraser's cinematography is splendid. The shots have been captured beautifully and it adds a lot to the impact, especially the use of lights and a reverse shot in the car accident scene. James Chinlund's production design is rich and has a bit of a comic book feel. Jacqueline Durran's costumes are appealing. David Crossman and Glyn Dillon designed the Batsuit and they do a superb job. Action is not too gory and contributes to the entertainment quotient. VFX is excellent. William Hoy and Tyler Nelson's editing is neat but could have been a little tighter. On the whole, THE BATMAN is a fresh take on the iconic superhero, with the performances and execution being the icing on the cake. Despite the dark undertones, the film has the potential to succeed at the Indian box office.

Movie Review: Jhund With writing, direction and performance being its major strengths, JHUND makes for a superb entertainer.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

JHUND is the story of an unusual football team. Vijay Borade (Amitabh Bachchan) teaches in St John’s college. The educational institute is situated next to a vast slum locality. The youth in this area are not well-educated and do odd jobs for a living. They even resort to stealing jewellery and mobile phones and coal from moving trains. One day, Vijay spots some of these youth like Ankush aka Don (Ankush Gedam), Babu (Priyanshu Kshatriya), Angel (Angel Anthony), Vishakha (Vishakha Uikey), Yogesh (Yogesh Uikey), Raziya (Rajiya Kazi) etc. playing football using an abandoned plastic box. He realizes that they have immense potential but they are wasting their time committing crimes and consuming drugs. He goes to the slum the next day and meets these young people. He asks them to play football for 30 minutes. In exchange, he’ll pay them Rs. 500. They agree. They have a gala time and after they finish their game, Vijay hands them Rs. 500 as promised. This goes on for many days. One day, Vijay doesn’t turn up on the ground. These slum kids then go to his house. Vijay tells them that he doesn’t have any more money to pay them. The slum kids, by now, have become so attached to playing the game, that they agree to play without money. Gradually, Vijay coaches them and soon, they become quite better at their game. Vijay proposes to the St John’s principal that these kids should be allowed to play a friendly match with the football team of the college. The principal reluctantly agrees. The coach of the St John’s team (Kishor Kadam) despises these slum children. He pressurizes the team to score 10 goals and not let the slum team score even one goal. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's story is splendid and nicely blends sports and social message. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's screenplay is hard-hitting. However, he keeps entertainment paramount. The goings-on gets a bit heavy but never turns depressing or too dark; he knows where to draw the line. However, at several places, the writing gets stretched. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's dialogues are conversational and quite funny at places. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's direction is first-rate. There have been many films in this space like CHAK DE INDIA [2017], ABCD [2013], HICHKI [2018], etc. Yet, one doesn’t get a déjà vu as Nagraj sets it in a very real world and also because of the finer nuances. His storytelling is supreme and entertaining, and the way he throws light on certain social issues is seen to be believed. What’s great is that he doesn’t let it turn into a niche fare. The symbolism he has tried to convey at various places is easy to comprehend, even for mass audiences. On the flipside, the film is too long at 178 minutes. The introduction of the setting and the characters are quite lengthy. Ideally, the film should be trimmed by around 20-30 minutes. The first half is quite power-packed and the second half also has its share of riveting sequences. The second half of the film touches upon a different kind of struggle of the slum team. JHUND begins on a great note and Vijay’s first interaction with Ankush is too good. The scene where he pays the kids to play football adds to the fun. However, the film gets better as the makers convincingly show how the kids get used to the sport and are now ready to invest time in it without any monetary returns. The football match with the college team forms a big chunk of the first half and is quite exciting. The sequence where these kids talk to Vijay about their lives is moving and executed brilliantly. Post-interval, a few sequences stand out like the kids themselves cleaning up the college premises, Monika’s (Rinku Rajguru) struggle in getting her passport and the courtroom sequence. The climax is nail-biting. Amitabh Bachchan has delivered several bravura performances in his long, illustrious career. Yet, he stuns with his act in JHUND. He keeps his act restrained and it works big time. Ankush Gedam is a big surprise of the film and gets considerable screen time. Priyanshu Kshatriya is hilarious as Babu. He raises the maximum laughs. Yogesh Uikey is great in the scene where he plays the banjo. Rajiya Kazi is decent. Kishor Kadam is fine in the antagonist kind of a role. Angel Anthony and Vishakha Uikey don’t get much scope. The same goes for Bhushan Manjule (Raziya's husband) and Chhaya Kadam (Vijay’s wife). Arjun Radhakrishnan (Arjun; Vijay Borade's son) is okay and it’s bewildering the way he returns to India to be with his father. Surat Limbo (Khelchand; peon turned footballer) is fine. Ashish Khachane (Jagdish; suicidal person) is lovely but his character suffers due to lack of a back story. Sayali Narendra Patil (Bhavana) looks gorgeous and is passable. Nagraj Popatrao Manjule (Hitler) is wasted. Manik Babulal Gedam (Monika's father) is good. Suresh Vishvakarma (Shop owner who is asked to help in the identification process) is funny. JHUND also stars SAIRAT’s actors, Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar (Sambhya), and both act very well. Aamir Khan Reaction to Jhund | Amitabh Bachchan | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Ajay-Atul | Bhushan Kumar Ajay-Atul's music is decent. 'Aaye Ye Jhund Hai' is relegated to the background but is foot-tapping. 'Lafda Zala' is well shot and reminds one of the 'Zingaat' track from SAIRAT. 'Laat Maar' and 'Baadal Se Dosti' are passable. Saket Kanetkar's background score is much better and enhances the impact. Sudhakar Yakkanti Reddy's cinematography is novel and the slum and football scenes especially are very well captured. Snigdha Katmahe and Pankaj Shivdas Poal's production design is very realistic. Priyanka Gayatri Dubey and Mahananda Sagare's costumes are non-glamorous, as per the demands of the script. Veera Kapur Ee's costumes for Amitabh Bachchan are a bit dull but it goes with the character. Kutub Inamdar and Vaibhav Dabhade's editing could have been tighter. On the whole, JHUND is a superb social entertainer, with Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's writing and direction, and the performances being its core strengths. At the box office, it has the potential to grow significantly as the word of mouth is bound to be very positive. It also deserves tax-free status. Recommended!

Movie Review: Love Hostel Due to a weak script and executing LOVE HOSTEL is disappointing

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

LOVE HOSTEL is the story of a couple on the run. Ahmed Shokeen aka Ashu (Vikrant Massey) and Jyoti Dilawar (Sanya Malhotra) reside in a town in Haryana. Both love each other and decide to marry, against the wishes of their parents as Ashu is a Muslim. His father is currently in prison after an AK-47 gun was planted in his meat shop. Hence, he is alleged to be a terrorist. Jyoti’s grandmother, meanwhile, is Kamala Dilawar (Swaroopa Ghosh), an MLA. She and Jyoti’s family have forcefully fixed her marriage with a man from their community. Days before her marriage, Jyoti runs away with Ashu. Both approach court and get married. The judge asks them to shift to a safe house and the parents of both are told to come for the next hearing, a week later. The safe house is also called a ‘love hostel’ as all the runaway couples reside there. It is managed by a corrupt cop, Chaudhary (Sidharth Bharadwaj). On their first night at the safe house, Ashu is urgently called by Chaudhary. The cop informs him that he needs to finish his job of illegally delivering beef, which he has been doing for a certain Devi Singh. Ashu makes it clear that he wishes to leave the job. However, Chaudhary and Devi Singh insist and hence, he goes out to do the delivery. Jyoti, on the other hand, had posted a video on social media declaring that she has married Ashu and that if anything happens to her, Kamala Dilawar would be responsible. An enraged Kamala then summons Viraj Singh Dagar (Bobby Deol) to find them and bring them to her residence. Dagar is a mysterious killer who has been eliminating runaway couples successfully. As per government records, he died 7 years ago. While Ashu is away, Dagar arrives at the ‘love hostel’ and starts killing couples randomly while trying to search for Jyoti. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Kunal Sharma's concept is interesting. The idea of a safe home for couples because of a regressive mindset in the society can make for a great film. Mehak Jamal and Yogi Singha's story, however, is poor and fails to do justice to this fine concept. Shanker Raman's screenplay is not tight. The biggest problem with the writing is that the subplots are weak and are not properly explained. Also, the finale is a disappointment. Yogi Singha's dialogues are average. A film like this should have had hard-hitting dialogues. Shanker Raman's direction is okay. He was in much better form in his previous film, GURGAON [2017]. Here, he has been aided by a weak script and hence, he is not able to do much to salvage the product. He deserves praise for the realism and for giving the film a NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN type of treatment. A few scenes are well executed like Sanya’s confrontation with Chaudhary and Sanya’s reaction when she sees the ‘love hostel’ for the first time. In fact, till a point, the film is engaging and one looks forward to what happens next. Ideally, the film should have been chiefly about Ashu and Jyoti on the run while trying to save themselves from the wrath of Dagar. Unfortunately, the sub-plots gain prominence in the second half. And the backstories are never properly explained. Hence, one fails to understand certain developments. Moreover, a crucial character is forgotten completely in the climax. The film ends on a disappointing note. Sanya on Shah Rukh Khan: “Mere liye to ye sapna tha ke kabhi main…” | Rapid Fire | Love Hostel Bobby Deol is decent but plays a unidimensional character. Hence, the impact is minimal though his character is menacing. Vikrant Massey is not in top form. Sanya Malhotra is quite good and tries to rise above the substandard script. Swaroopa Ghosh is nothing special. Raj Arjun (Sushil Rathi) is great but his character gets a raw deal. Sidharth Bharadwaj is memorable. Simran Rawal (Babli Dilawar) and Aditi Vasudev (Nidhi Dahiya) leave a mark. Sonal Jha (Sushil Rathi's wife) is wasted. Seema Raja (Ashu's mother) does well in a small role. Akshay Oberoi (Diler) is just okay. One wonders why he opted to play such a random character. Yogesh Tiwari (Randhir Dilawar; Jyoti's father), Yudhvir Ahlawat (Rakesh Dilawar), Vishal Om Prakash (Advocate Ashok Khanna), Manoj Bakshi, Ramesh Kundu (Suraj Bhan), Navneet Malik (Param) and Suman Kumar Jha (Sajid) are fine. Shor Police's music is forgettable. The film should have been a song-less fare. Clinton Cerejo's background score has a cinematic feel. Vivek Shah's cinematography is neat. Mausam Aggarwal's production design is realistic. Amritpal Singh's action is full of bloodshed and is a bit disturbing. Utpala Barve's costumes are straight out of life. Nitin Baid and Shan Mohammed's editing is appropriate. On the whole, LOVE HOSTEL is a disappointing fare due to the weak script and execution.

Movie Review: Gangubai Kathiawadi Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi is a powerful saga and is embellished with terrific moments and a career best performance by Alia Bhatt. At the box office, it has bright chances to score with the multiplex and female audiences.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI is the story of a woman’s journey from being a prostitute to being a messiah of the oppressed. The story begins in the early 50s. Ganga Harjivandas (Alia Bhatt) is a resident of Kathiawad. Her father is a barrister and she belongs to a well-to-do family. Ganga wants to be an actress and her boyfriend, Ramneek (Varun Kapoor), tells her that he’ll help her bag a role in a big Hindi film. She runs away with him to Bombay. In Bombay, he takes her to a brothel, run by Sheela (Seema Pahwa). This is when Ganga is told that Ramneek has sold her to Sheela for Rs. 1,000. At first, she protests but later gives in and joins the flesh trade. After she sleeps with her first client, something changes in her. She renames herself Gangu. In no time, she becomes rebellious, much against the will of Sheela. One day, early in the morning, Sheela gets a visitor, Shaukat Abbas Khan. He asks for Gangu. Sheela realizes that he doesn’t seem right. Yet, she allows Gangu to sleep with Shaukat to teach her a lesson. Also, she sends her henchmen away. Shaukat attacks Gangu and badly injures her. Gangu has to be hospitalized as Shaukat has disfigured her. Gangu learns that Shaukat belongs to the gang of Rahim Lala (Ajay Devgn), a famous don in Bombay and also quite a respectful figure of the city. Gangu meets him and tells him the truth. Rahim teaches Shaukat a lesson in public. The way Rahim Lala comes forward to help Gangu gives her the much-needed boost. Soon, Sheela passes away and Gangu takes over the business. She realizes that she needs to win the elections of the Kamathipura Association to turn the ride of the 4,000 sex workers residing in the red light area. However, doing so won’t be a cakewalk. Gangubai’s opponent is none other than the very powerful Razia Bai (Vijay Raaz). What happens next forms the rest of the film. GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI is inspired from the chapter ‘The Matriarch Of Kamathipura’ in S Hussain Zaidi’s book, ‘Mafia Queens Of Mumbai’. The story is interesting and raises some important issues. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha's screenplay is entertaining and dramatic. Several films in the past have touched upon the lives of sex workers. But the writers ensure one doesn’t get a déjà vu of these movies. The character of Gangubai is very well fleshed out and the same goes for other supporting characters. Prakash Kapadia and Utkarshini Vashishtha's dialogues are powerful and one of the best in recent times. In several scenes, it’s the hard-hitting one liners that enhance the impact. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's direction is first-rate. He ensures the viewers get zapped into the world of Gangubai and Kamathipura. He has given some accomplished films in the past and hence, one doesn’t expect an ordinary product from him. In this regard, he doesn’t disappoint. He has helmed the story beautifully and sensitively and has also added the grandeur the way only he could have achieved. Gangubai’s pain comes out very well and everyone can empathize with her. At the same time, for most parts, the film is not disturbing and is quite mainstream in its treatment. However, the romantic portion between Gangubai and Afsaan (Shantanu Maheshwari) could have been shorter as this is when the film gets a bit slow. The second half is engaging but for the single-screen audience, it doesn’t offer mass entertainment. Moreover, Gangubai is called ‘Mafia Queen’ a couple of times but she isn’t depicted as a mafia in any way. GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI’s beginning portions are a bit dark and disturbing. The film gets better once Ganga turns into Gangu. The entire track of Shaukat Abbas Khan and Razia Bai are highly engrossing. All scenes of Rahim Lala give a lot of weightage to the narrative. The romantic track, though a bit weak, has some cute moments. Post-interval, the film drops at places but picks up in the Azad Maidan speech scene and in the last 15 minutes. Alia Bhatt: “I’m striving for AUTHENTICITY, not for perfection”| Gangubai Kathiawadi Alia Bhatt delivers arguably the best performance of her career. Many had reservations that age-wise, she is not correct for the part. However, Gangubai is shown to be quite young and hence, Alia fits the bill perfectly. And she gets into the skin of her character like never before. Ajay Devgn has a 10-minute appearance and he’s phenomenal. His casting is also spot-on. Seema Pahwa is memorable. Vijay Raaz is too good in a small role. Shantanu Maheshwari is adorable and will be loved. Varun Kapoor is decent. Jim Sarbh (Journalist Amin Faizi) is excellent. Indira Tiwari (Kamli), last seen in SERIOUS MEN [2020] is a surprise of the film. Rahul Vohra (Prime Minister) is decent. The actors playing Madhu (the girl rescued by Gangubai), Shaukat Abbas Khan, Birju, the dentist, etc. are fine. Huma Qureshi is good in the 'Shikayat' song. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's music is a big letdown. He is known for soulful and hit songs but not a single song of GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI registers. 'Dholida' is okay just due to the picturization. The same goes for 'Meri Jaan' and 'Jab Saiyaan'. 'Shikayat' and 'Jhume Re Gori' are forgettable. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara's background score is much better. Sudeep Chatterjee's cinematography is topnotch and the Kamathipura set visuals are captured beautifully. Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray's production design is pleasing to the eyes and yet very realistic. Sheetal Iqbal Sharma's costumes are appealing, especially the white costumes worn by Alia. Sham Kaushal's action is fine. VFX is great. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's editing could have been better at a few places. On the whole, GANGUBAI KATHIAWADI is a powerful saga and is embellished with terrific moments and a career best performance by Alia Bhatt. At the box office, it has bright chances to score with the multiplex and female audiences.

Movie Review: Valimai Ajith starrer VALIMAI [Hindi] suffers from long length, complicated narrative and lack of logic. At the box office, it will struggle to find an audience.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

VALIMAI is the story of an honest cop fighting a bike gang. Chennai has become the hub for drugs, especially the one that comes from Colombia. A bike gang has suddenly cropped up in the Tamil Nadu city. It steals the drugs from Colombia whenever it gets docked in Chennai. Their modus operandi, however, is unique. When they steal the drugs, they also commit murders and indulge in chain snatching incidents. With cases rising steadily, Arjun (Ajith Kumar), an honest and upright cop, is asked to solve the case. Arjun is the first one to join the dots and realise that the chain snatching, murder and drugs are all interconnected. He's also able to use his intellect and find out that the leader of this biker gang Naren (Kartikeya Gummakonda) is using dark web to get his work done. He almost finds his location too. However, an alert Naren realizes that he’s about to get caught and escapes. Naren challenges Arjun and their war turns ugly, especially after Naren drags Arjun’s family into the madness. What happens next forms the rest of the film. H Vinoth’s story has the potential. H Vinoth’s screenplay, however, is not upto the mark. The narrative is not simplified and it takes a while to understand what exactly is happening. The dialogues in Hindi are okay. H Vinoth’s direction has the mass appeal. It is evident that he knows how to handle the grandeur. He has handled a few scenes exceptionally. The part where Arjun is able to hack into Naren’s site is too good and the best part of the film. Arjun’s entry is also heroic. On the flip side, the execution is shaky at several places. In such films, one should ideally not look for logic. Yet, in some scenes, there’s absolute lack of sense and it becomes difficult to digest certain developments. Hence, one doesn’t even empathize when the protagonist faces problems. Moreover, the villains are projected in a caricature manner. Speaking of performances, Ajith Kumar is in top form. He brings the star power that was required in a film of this scale. Kartikeya Gummakonda is over the top in the role of the villain. Huma Qureshi (Sophia) is decent. Bani J (Sara) is fine and suits the part. Pearle Maaney (Christina), of LUDO [2020] fame, is lovely. Sumithra (Arjun’s mother), Achyuth Kumar (Kundan: Arjun’s drunkard brother) and the actors playing Arjun’s brother Ashu, Kundan’s wife Chithra, Selva, Officer Sarkar and officer Sasan are passable. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is wasted as VALIMAI ideally should have been a song-less film. 'Mother Song' and 'Dekhi Lahu’ are forgettable. 'Whistle Theme’ is catchy but it is relegated to the background. 'Dhana Dhani’ is missing in the Hindi version. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score is exhilarating. Boney Kapoor: “Valimai has fantastic action that’s never seen before” | Ajith Kumar | Salman Khan Nirav Shah's cinematography is breathtaking. Dhilip Subbarayan's action is grand and appealing. K Kadhir's art direction is first-rate. Anu Vardhan's costumes are appealing. Vijay Velukutty's editing is poor. The film should have been shorter by 20 minutes. On the whole, VALIMAI [Hindi] suffers from long length, complicated narrative and lack of logic. At the box office, thanks to the limited buzz, it will struggle to find an audience. The business in B and C centres might be a bit respectable due to the mass element.

Movie Review: Uncharted (English) A fun filled masala entertainer that capitalizes on Tom Holland’s casting UNCHARTED is fun watch.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

UNCHARTED is the story of two men trying to find a lost treasure. The film begins 15 years ago. Nathan aka Nate is a child and his older brother is Sam Drake. Both try to steal a map belonging to the Magellan expedition. However, they are caught red-handed. Sam, however, escapes and promises Nate that he’ll find him. In present-day New York, Nate (Tom Holland) works as a bartender and even steals valuables from wealthy guests without suspicion. One day, he meets Victor Sullivan aka Sully (Mark Wahlberg) in the bar. Sully is a treasure hunter and has worked with Sam in the past on an expedition. Sully claims that Sam ghosted him after they both stole a valuable diary. Due to the Sam connection, Nate agrees when Sully asks him for help – to find the Magellan treasure. As per the legend and the contents in the diary, the treasure is hidden in a place that has been locked with the help of two keys. Sam already has one key. The other key is about to be auctioned in New York. Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) is looking forward to buying this key at the auction. It was his family that funded the Magellan expedition. Hence, he feels that the treasure that Magellan has hidden belongs to him. He is aided by Jo Braddock (Tati Gabrielle), a ruthless mercenary. Sully plans to steal the key from the auction house with the help of Nate. The duo team up and manage to do the steal. At one point, Nate almost gets caught and Sully simply escapes as he had got the key without trying to help Nate. This makes Nate realize that Sully can’t be trusted. Nevertheless, they travel to Barcelona, Spain as that’s where the treasure is supposedly hidden. Here, they meet Chloe Frazer (Sophia Ali). Sully, here, learns that Chloe is the one who has the other key. She, too, warns him that Sully is not trustworthy. Meanwhile, Moncada reaches Barcelona and wants to find the treasure at any cost. As per the diary contents, the treasure is hidden under what seems to be a pine tree. Sully is puzzled as there are innumerable pine trees in Barcelona. However, Nate correctly guesses that the treasure is not under any tree but in the St. Mary of the Pine church. They enter the holy place and are able to find an underground passage that hopefully leads to the treasure. What happens next forms the rest of the film. UNCHARTED is based on a video game of the same name. Rafe Lee Judkins, Jon Hanley Rosenberg and Mark D Walker's story blends entertainment and adventure neatly. Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway's screenplay is simple and full of fun and thrilling moments. The chemistry between the male lead characters is also fleshed out neatly. However, a lot of developments defy logic. Also, it is a bhel puri of several films in this genre. Dialogues are simple and funny at places. Ruben Fleischer's direction is first-rate and does justice to the written material. Several such adventure films can be too fast-paced at times. UNCHARTED, however, is an exception. The director allows the narrative to grow organically. Yet, the film doesn’t seem to drag and he packs in a lot in 117 minutes. While the film gives viewers their money’s worth, it’ll also give them a déjà vu of films like RED NOTICE, INDIANA JONES, FAST & FURIOUS, NATIONAL TREASURE, etc. A few developments are very unconvincing while the way two important characters get a raw deal in the second half won’t be acceptable to many. UNCHARTED starts off on a thrilling and unexpected note and sets the mood. The flashback portion begins in a non-dramatic manner. However, the auction house sequence sets the mood. The chase sequence in Barcelona is entertaining. The scene where the trio enters the church is quite lengthy and a gripping part of the film. The twist at the mid-point might be predictable for many. Nevertheless, one looks forward to what happens next. The mid-air drama is crazy. The finale is again predictable but the way things unfold makes it worth a watch. The film ends with the promise of a sequel. Tom Holland effortlessly slips into the part of Nate. One is able to forget his iconic role of Spider-Man and that’s a huge victory. Mark Wahlberg plays a role that would remind one of Ryan Reynolds. However, he brings his own style and touch and it works. Sophia Ali puts up a confident act. She deserved more screen time. Tati Gabrielle is great in the role of the badass antagonist. Antonio Banderas is decent but his role seems to be a bit of a caricature. Ramin Djawadi's music is nothing extraordinary. Chung-hoon Chung's cinematography is splendid and the aerial shots especially are very well shot. Shepherd Frankel's production design is rich. The underground church set, especially, is magnificent. Anthony Franco and Marlene Stewart's costumes are appealing. Action adds to the fun and is without any gore. VFX, as expected, is mind-blowing. Chris Lebenzon and Richard Pearson's editing is slick. On the whole, UNCHARTED is a fun-filled masala entertainer. It has got a wide release, as it took advantage of the lack of other movies hitting cinemas this week. At the box office, it has a chance to score due to its mass appeal and Tom Holland’s casting.

Movie Review: A Thursday Featuring a taut script, first rate execution and fine performances, A THURSDAY springs a huge surprise.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

A THURSDAY is the story of a woman who takes 16 kids hostage. Naina Jaiswal (Yami Gautam Dhar) is engaged to Rohit Mirchandani (Karanvir Sharma) and stays in his sprawling house. A part of his residence has been converted into a playschool, which is run by Naina. She falls sick and resumes the playschool three weeks later, on a rainy Thursday. After the parents drop the kids off and leave, the maid, Savitri (Kalyanee Mulay) asks Naina for a holiday the next day as she has to go to the Aadhaar card centre for updating her details. Naina insists that she get her work done on the same day. After Savitri leaves and Naina is all alone with the kids, she calls the Colaba Police Station and informs them that she has taken 16 kids hostage. Her demand is to talk to a reputed cop, Javed Khan (Atul Kulkarni). After she ends a call, she gets a visitor, a driver (Boloram Das) of one of the children, who has come to deliver a parcel. She lets him inside. The driver notices that she has a gun. He gets scared and tries to raise an alarm. She ties him up. As luck would have it, Savitri returns as she had forgotten her cell phone. She too gets tied up. Meanwhile, a pregnant cop, Catherine Alvarez (Neha Dhupia) arrives at the scene. Naina fires at her and this is when the cops realise that the matter is serious. Javed is asked to come down immediately. Javed calls Naina and she says that she wants Rs. 5 crores. She assures that after her demand is met, she'll release one kid, and would inform about the rest of the demands later. After her demand is fulfilled and after a child is allowed to leave, Naina puts forward her next demand - to talk to the Prime Minister of India, Maya Rajguru (Dimple Kapadia). What happens next forms the rest of the film. Ashley Michael Lobo and Behzad Kambata's story is quite engaging and relatable. It is also in the same zone as A WEDNESDAY (2008). Ashley Michael Lobo and Behzad Kambata's screenplay is very gripping and thrilling. The writers are in firm control of their material and have peppered the narrative with a lot of thrilling and unpredictable moments. Vijay Maurya's dialogues are hard hitting. A few of the sarcastic dialogues of Atul Kulkarni raise laughs. Behzad Kambata's direction is superior. The director's last film BLANK [2019] was decent but A THURSDAY shows that he has improved considerably. The nearly two-hour long film has no song and dance or lighter moments. The focus is just on the story and the main characters. And Behzad manages to grip the viewers from start to finish. What’s commendable is that the finale is hard-hitting and clapworthy and to a great extent does justice to the legacy and impact of the predecessor (of sorts), A WEDNESDAY. On the flipside, it's a little unconvincing to see that a person single-handedly was able to take the kids hostage and the cops and the commandos outside stood as mute spectators. The track of the journalist, Shalini Guha (Maya Sarao), is also weak. However, these are minor faults and the twists and turns in the second half compensate for all the shortcomings. The suspense is unpredictable. A THURSDAY’s beginning makes one feel that it’s a sweet, light-hearted film. But soon, the thrilling background score is played and one realizes that Naina has a sinister plan in her mind. The way she takes the kids hostage without making them feel that they are in such a situation and the way she negotiates with the cops has been done very nicely. The tu-tu-main-main between Catherine and Javed enhances the entertainment quotient. Post-interval, the interrogation of Rohit is gripping. The film stagnates after this sequence. However, the scene where Naina gets attacked while the kids are listening to meditative music in their noise-cancelling headphones once again piques interest. The last 15-20 minutes are terrific. Yami Gautam Dhar delivers the most accomplished performance of her career. She has always been a fine performer but after this film, she’ll be seen in a different light. Her performance is just right and the way she switches from being menacing to being very sweet is seen to be believed. Atul Kulkarni is highly entertaining and is lovely as the sarcastic and kind-hearted cop. Neha Dhupia had played a similar part in SANAK [2021] but here, her role is fleshed out in a better way. And her performance is also first-rate. Dimple Kapadia is very good and suits the part. Karanvir Sharma is quite good in the supporting role. Maya Sarao is nice but doesn’t get much scope. Kalyanee Mulay and Boloram Das lend able support. Others are fine. A THURSDAY is a song-less film. Roshan Dalal and Kaizad Gherda's background score is one of the USPs of the film and contributes to the thrill factor very well. Anuja Rakesh Dhawan and Siddharth Vasani's cinematography is very good. Madhusudan N's production design is rich. Ayesha Khanna's costumes are realistic and non-glamourous, as per the demands of the script. The same goes for Vikram Dahiya's action. Sumeet Kotian's editing could have been tighter towards the beginning of the second half but overall, it’s good. On the whole, A THURSDAY springs a huge surprise. It is laced with a taut script, first-rate execution and the finest performance ever by Yami Gautam Dhar. It’s a film that should have ideally come in cinemas. Had it been released on the big screen, especially in the Women’s Day week, it would have emerged as the sleeper hit of the year, if not the sleeper super-hit. Highly Recommended!

Movie Review: Badhaai Do Despite featuring some fine performances the long length, poor writing, lack of buzz and niche appeal will affect the success of BADHAAI DO.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

BADHAAI DO is the story of a homosexual couple entering into a lavender marriage. Shardul Thakur (Rajkummar Rao) is a cop in Dehradun. He stays with his conservative family. He is a closet homosexual man and he hasn’t revealed this fact to his family. He’s 32 and his family is pressuring him to get married. Suman Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), meanwhile, is a physical education teacher, and is a closet lesbian. Even her family is compelling her to settle down. She resorts to dating apps to find a suitable match. She comes across the profile of Raju and he expresses a desire to meet her and take matters forward. She agrees and they decide to meet in a café. At the café, she gets the shock of her life when she realizes that Raju is actually a guy pretending to be a girl. This guy, whose real name is Rajeev (Vyom Yadav), finds out where Suman lives and where her father (Nitesh Pandey) has a shop. He blackmails her and demands sexual favours or else he threatens to expose her. Suman complains to the police. Shardul notes down her complaint and he gets Rajeev arrested. Rajeev blurts out to Shardul that she’s not straight. While noting down her complaint, he has learnt that Suman is of the same caste as him. Hence, he meets Suman and asks her to get married to him. According to his plan, both can reside as roommates after tying the knot and can live their lives on their own terms. Suman agrees and thus, both get married. A year after marriage, Shardul’s family starts pressurizing the couple for a baby. Shardul is dating an MBA student, Kabir (Deepak Arora), and their relationship is on the rocks. Suman, meanwhile, bumps into Rimjhim Jongkey (Chum Darang), who works at a pathology lab. Both begin a secret affair and Rimjhim even moves into Shardul and Suman’s marriage. Shardul gets afraid over this development as he resides in the police quarters where his fellow cop neighbours are quite conservative. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Akshat Ghildial and Suman Adhikary's story is progressive and the concept of the film is quite brave. Akshat Ghildial, Suman Adhikary and Harshavardhan Kulkarni's screenplay is shaky though at few places, it is entertaining as well touching. Both the main characters are very neatly fleshed out and also that of Shardul’s mother (Sheeba Chaddha). However, the script is stretched in the middle portion of the film. Ideally, the screenplay should have been shorter for a better impact. Akshat Ghildial's dialogues are conversational but lack punchlines. His dialogues were far better in BADHAAI HO [2018] and the one-liners here should have been similarly witty and smart. Director Harshavardhan Kulkarni has handled certain scenes with élan. He deserves kudos as a film of such a topic needs to be treated sensitively. In this regard, Harshavardhan comes out with flying colours as there’s nothing offensive or objectionable at all about LGBTQIA+ community. He also breaks stereotypes; the gay character is a strong body-builder with six pack abs and is a cop, something that’s never seen before in a Bollywood film dealing with a homosexual character. Sadly, he lets the film go on and on. BADHAAI DO is 147 minutes long and should have been ideally of 2 hours duration. A few humorous gags fall flat. The director doesn’t explain why Kabir lost interest in Shardul and what went wrong between them. Even Rimjhim’s character disappears in the middle. Thankfully, the last 30-35 minutes are excellent and very moving. BADHAAI DO’s beginning is alright. The track of Raju is intriguing and inspired by true events. After Shardul proposes marriage to Suman, one expects the makers to devote the next 10-15 minutes to the family preparing for the marriage. However, the film straight away moves to their marriage part and one expects the film to move like a rocket. However, the film begins to wander aimlessly for a while. A few scenes, thankfully, stand out like the blood test scene between Suman and Rimjhim, Shardul pretending to be ‘manly’ in front of the DSP (Abhay Joshi) and his wife (Durga Sharma) and Shardul’s mother trying to act tough in front of Suman but failing big time. Thankfully, things get better in the third act. The film ends on a fine note. Speaking of performances, Rajkummar Rao, as expected, nails the part. His comic timing is spot-on and overall, he does justice to his part. Bhumi Pednekar also gives her best shot and delivers a heartfelt performance. Sheeba Chaddha gets to play a fun character and raises laughs. In the last act, she communicates through her expressions and eyes beautifully. Chum Darang is a great find and delivers a great performance. Gulshan Devaiah (Devi Narayan) is impressive in a cameo. Nitesh Pandey is lovely and is memorable in the pre-climax scene. Deepak Arora, Vyom Yadav, Loveleen Mishra (Suman’s mother), Abhay Joshi, Durga Sharma, Seema Pahwa, Priyanka Charan (Shardul's sister) and Nidhi Bhati (Naaznin Baig) are fine. Music is not memorable and the songs act as a deterrent. The title track, 'Atak Gaya', 'Hum Thay Seedhe Saadhe', 'Bandi Tot' and 'Maange Manzooriyan' don’t have a long shelf life. 'Hum Rang Hai' is the only track that stands out and comes at a great juncture. Hitesh Sonik's background score gives the film a light-hearted touch. Swapnil S Sonawane's cinematography is appropriate. Laxmi Keluskar's production design is realistic. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are straight out of life. Kirti Nakhwa's editing could have been tighter. The film should have been mercilessly edited by at least 30 minutes. On the whole, BADHAAI DO talks about an important topic in a sensitive manner and is embellished with some fine performances. However, the long length, poor writing, lack of buzz and niche appeal will prove detrimental to its box office performance. It would work only in a handful of cities and urban multiplexes.

Movie Review: Gehraiyaan GEHRAIYAAN is a mature relationship drama with niche appeal, bravura performances and an exciting climax.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

GEHRAIYAAN is a story of two couples. Alisha (Deepika Padukone) is a yoga instructor based in Mumbai. She is developing a yoga-based app, for which she requires funding. She has a strained relationship with her father Vinod (Naseeruddin Shah). Her mother (Pavleen Gujral) died by suicide, after Vinod forcibly relocated to Nashik with his family. She has still not been able to come out of the trauma of losing her mother. Since 6 years, Alisha is in a relationship with Karan (Dhairya Karwa), an advertising professional who quit his job to write his novel. Their relationship also develops cracks due to lack of communication. Alisha’s cousin Tia (Ananya Panday) invites the former and Karan to Tia’s farmhouse in Alibaug. Tia knows Karan very well too and she wants Alisha and Karan to meet her boyfriend, Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi). The foursome meet and Alisha and Zain get attracted to each other, without the knowledge of their respective partners. Zain is a self-made man who left his violent father and helpless mother at a young age and worked his way up. He’s into the realty business and is trying to put together an expensive, dream project. Tia’s father is also helping Zain in his venture. After having a gala time in Alibaug, they return to Mumbai. Zain and Alisha keep in touch, secretly. Zain even visits Alisha’s yoga studio as he has a back pain. Here, both get intimate. Soon, Tia leaves for USA to settle some family legal issues while Karan relocates to Alibaug to finish his novel. This gives a golden opportunity to Alisha and Zain and they both start an affair. Zain also raises funds for Alisha’s app. After a few days, Karan returns to Mumbai. Alisha realizes that he hid from her that a publishing house declined to publish his novel. She also found it difficult to communicate with him and to digest that he has not been earning. Hence, they break up. Zain also promises to end his affair with Tia but there’s a catch and he needs to wait for 6 months. At a party thrown to celebrate Zain and Tia’s third anniversary, Zain is informed by his business associate Jitesh (Rajat Kapoor) that they are going to be in a big time and legal and financial mess after a banker, who approved their bad loan, got arrested. Zain is already processing this information when Alisha turns up and tells him that she’s pregnant with his child. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Ayesha Devitre Dhillon and Shakun Batra's story is layered and offers an interesting take on modern-day relationships, which is rarely seen in our films. Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, Sumit Roy and Shakun Batra's screenplay (additional screenplay by Yash Sahai) is peppered with intriguing moments. However, the writing is very niche. The first hour is predictable and it takes a while to get a hang of the narrative style of the film. Yash Sahai and Ayesha Devitre Dhillon's dialogues are conversational and even acidic at places. The lines mouthed by the actor are very real and straight out of life. There’s hardly any funny punchline and hence, there’s very limited scope for humour. However, it’s not a problem as there’s a lot of interesting stuff throughout the film. Shakun Batra's direction is more on the lines of the ones seen in world cinema. This time, the director is just not touching upon the relationship-based complexities but also the business angle. The comment he makes on this aspect apart from cheating in relationships adds a lot to the film. On the flipside, the beginning portions are difficult to comprehend. A lot of information is thrown in the start of the film as to how the characters are related to each other and especially their parents. Also, the film has a niche appeal and hence, a major section of the audience would find it difficult to relate to the goings-on. GEHRAIYAAN’s beginning is a bit shaky. The way Zain and Alisha’s bond grows is neatly and organically executed. Even the problems they face doesn’t seem sudden and is totally believable. The film takes a turn when Alisha gets pregnant and Zain faces problems in his business. Several scenes in the second half stand out, particularly Tia asking Zain whether he’s cheating on her, Zain and Jitesh’s confrontation and Zain and Tia’s fight in the parking lot. The last 30 minutes comes as a bolt from the blue is seen to be believed. The final scene will leave viewers stunned. Deepika Padukone has the maximum screen time and delivers one of the finest performances of her illustrious career. This is not an easy act and the role required someone of the calibre of Deepika to pull it off nicely. Watch out for her in the last hour of the film, when she communicates beautifully just through her eyes and very few dialogues. Siddhant Chaturvedi gets to play a great part and he nails it. There’s a lot to his character and his track than what is shown in the trailer and he’s particularly great in the second half. Ananya Panday also tries to give her best and is very memorable in the scene where she confronts Siddhant Chaturvedi and when she tells the truth to Deepika about the Alibaug property in the end. Dhairya Karwa gets limited scope and is decent. Naseeruddin Shah, as always, is dependable. Rajat Kapoor has a crucial part and is terrific. Pavleen Gujral, Anaaya Anand (young Alisha), Vihaan Chaudhary (Bejoy; banker), Deepak Kriplani (Karan's father), Kanika Dang (Karan's mother), Kamal Adib (Kamal; old man stranded in a boat), Mohini Kewalramani (Kamal's wife) and Shereena Master (Anika) also do a fine job. Deepika’s Rapid Fire: “People will love Hrithik & my chemistry in Fighter because…”| Gehraiyaan Oaff and Savera's music has an international feel and works well with the film. 'Doobey' is the most memorable of the lot. The title track and 'Gehraiyaan (Reprise)' are soulful. 'Beqaaboo' fails to register. Oaff and Savera's background score blends with the narrative and world-cinema-vibe of the movie. Kaushal Shah's cinematography is first-rate, especially the scenes shot in enclosed spaces. T P Abid's production design is rich and authentic. Anaita Shroff Adajania's costumes are stylish and reflect the upmarket and urbane outlook of the characters. Nitesh Bhatia's editing is smooth – the film is neither too dragging nor too quick. Special mention should be made of Dar Gai's intimacy direction – the lovemaking scenes are aesthetically handled; and Ayush Ahuja's sound design – the use of sound is quite creative. On the whole, GEHRAIYAAN is a mature relationship drama but has a niche appeal. However the bravura performances and the exciting climax makes the film a decent watch.

Movie Review: Looop Lapeta Despite the loopholes and weak side-tracks LOOOP LAPETA works due to the experimental plot, stylized narrative and Taapsee Pannu’s performance

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

LOOOP LAPETA is the story of a girl in a race against time to save her boyfriend. Savina Borkar aka Savi (Taapsee Pannu) is an athlete based in Goa. She is trained by her father Atul Borkar (K C Shankar) and it is his dream to see her become a successful sportsperson. While running a race, she trips and injures her knee so badly that she can no longer participate in races. She gets depressed and is about to end her life when she bumps into Satyajeet aka Satya (Tahir Raj Bhasin). Both fall in love and move in together. Satya wants to become rich using shortcut methods. He tries his hand at gambling but doesn’t get the desired result. He starts working for Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), a gangster cum restaurateur. Savi, meanwhile, takes up the job of taking care of an octogenarian (Abdul Majid Shaikh). On the day of Savi’s birthday, while taking care of the elderly patient, she realizes in his toilet that she is pregnant. She gets high on drugs and this is when Satya calls her. He is in panic and narrates to her that Victor had told him to deliver a parcel to a man and bring cash amounting to Rs. 50 lakhs in return. Victor had given him 80 minutes to complete the job. Satya delivered the package and got the money. While returning to Victor’s restaurant in a bus, Satya starts smoking pot with a fellow passenger. The cops enter the bus at a bus stop. Realizing that Satya is smoking a banned substance, they try to nab him. A scared Satya escapes from the bus. After outsmarting the cops, he realizes that he forgot the bag that contains the money in the bus. Hence, he calls Savi and asks for her help. Savi advises him to go to the bus depot where the bus is headed to. Satya does as instructed and even finds the bus. However, the bag is no longer there. Meanwhile, she runs and meets her father, with whom she has broken all ties after her accident and after she began dating Satya. Savi asks him to pay Rs. 50 lakhs. He refuses straight away. She shows him the middle finger and leaves. She gets into a cab run by a man called Jacob (Sameer Kevin Roy). She asks him to take him to Satya. However, Jacob refuses as he’s depressed since his girlfriend Julia (Shreya Dhanwanthary) is getting married to someone else. An angry Savi breaks his side mirror. A cop, David Colaco (Bhupesh Bandekar), witnesses Savi vandalizing Jacob’s taxi. He runs behind her. Meanwhile, with no other option, Satya tries to steal from a jewellery shop called Shree Mamlesh Charan Chaddhaji & Sons Jewellers. It is run by Mamlesh (Rajendra Chawla) who treats his two sons, Appu (Manik Papneja) and Gappu (Raghav Raj Kakker), in an insulting manner. As luck would have it, Appu and Gappu are fed up with daily humiliation. They are also about to loot the jewellery store at the same time. Satya enters the shop and steals money from the locker. As he’s about to escape, Appu and Gappu enter. Savi reaches the store and helps Satya escape. At the back alley, Satya and Savi are rejoicing when Mamlesh lands up and shoots Satya dead. All of a sudden, Savi finds herself back in the toilet with the pregnancy kit in her hand. It takes a while for her to understand that she had gone back in time. She gets a call from Satya, who informs him about the mess. She realizes that she has got one more chance to save Satya’s life. What happens next forms the rest of the film. LOOOP LAPETA is based on the 1998 German film RUN LOLA RUN (written and directed by Tom Tykwer; produced by Stefan Arndt). The story is interesting and experimental. Not many films in India have been made in this genre, though GAME OVER [2019] was based on the time loop concept and it also starred Taapsee. However, one is not reminded of it at all as LOOOP LAPETA has an altogether different setting and execution. Vinay Chhawal, Ketan Pedgaonkar, Aakash Bhatia and Arnav Vepa Nanduri's screenplay is entertaining at places but the side tracks are weak. There was also a lot of scope for humour but the makers miss the chance. Vinay Chhawal, Ketan Pedgaonkar, Aakash Bhatia and Arnav Vepa Nanduri's dialogues (additional dialogues by Puneet Chadha) are witty and hilarious. Aakash Bhatia's direction is technically quite strong. He has made great use of the music and camerawork and given the film a very stylish execution. The film is 135 minutes long but doesn’t seem boring or dragging even for a second. One is completely engrossed in the narrative and looks forward to seeing what happens next. On the flipside, the track of Julia is forced in the narrative. In the third try, Savi could have just avoided bumping into Jacob and getting embroiled into Julia’s problem. Yet, she attempts to help her escape. In the process, she keeps aside the mission of saving her boyfriend and arranging for Rs. 50 lakhs in 50 minutes! Shockingly, in the third attempt, she even goes to the casino on the cruise and one wonders how did she get the time to do so many activities in less than an hour! The track of the jewelers’ sons has a part to play in the main plot but it’s too childish. As for the track of father, it's written well but fails to evoke emotions. Speaking of performances, Taapsee Pannu, as always, is excellent. The script might be faulty but she tries her best to rise above it and it makes the film a watchable fare. Tahir Raj Bhasin is decent but looks out of place in some scenes. Dibyendu Bhattacharya is apt for the part. Shreya Dhanwanthary does a fine job and her monologue is superb. However, as mentioned above, her track is needlessly thrown in the script. Sameer Kevin Roy is okay. Raghav Raj Kakker, fondly remembered for playing ‘Karamchand’ in the web series SCAM 1992 [2020], and Manik Papneja try too hard to be funny. The same goes for Bhupesh Bandekar. Rajendra Chawla is a little better. K C Shankar is passable. Abdul Majid Shaikh is cute. Alistar Bennis (Robert) and Varun Pande (Yash; Atul Borkar's boyfriend) are okay. Music relegated to the background and won’t have a shelf life. The title song has an exhilarating vibe. 'Beqaraar' is a bit memorable. 'Nirvana' and 'Tera Mera' fail to impress. Rahul Pais and Nariman Khambata's background score is exciting and appropriate for the film’s overall mood. Yash Khanna's cinematography is stylish and unique. Rarely have you seen camerawork of this sort. Aejaz Gulab's action is realistic. Pradeep Paul Francis and Diya Mukerjea's production design is a bit theatrical. Indrakshi Pattanaik's costumes have the Goan stamp. The crop tops worn by Taapsee are quite chic. Priyank Prem Kumar's editing is quite stylized. Lastly, Debjyoti Saha's title sequence and animation is memorable. On the whole, LOOOP LAPETA works due to the experimental plot, stylized narrative and Taapsee Pannu’s performance. However, thanks to the loopholes in the script and the weak side tracks, the film at best turns out to be an average fare.

Movie Review: The King's Man (English) Apart from featuring some fine performances and an exciting climax, THE KING’S MAN also enjoys a clear run at the box office.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

THE KING'S MAN is the story of the beginnings of a discreet intelligence organization. The year is 1902. Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) was a fighter once but has now given up violence. He is in South Africa with his wife Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara), son Conrad and man Friday Shola (Djimon Hounsou) to meet a British regiment. A rebel suddenly attacks the regiment and it leads to the death of Emily. Before she dies, she tells Orland to promise her that he’ll keep Conrad away from war and violence. Oxford agrees. 12 years have passed. The year is now 1914. A grown-up Conrad (Harris Dickinson) is interested in joining the Army. Orlando, obviously, is dead against the idea. One day, British General Herbert Kitchener (Charles Dance) visits Orlando and tells him that the life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (Ron Cook) is in danger. An attack on his convoy is foiled with the help of Conrad. However, in the second attempt, the killer succeeds and the Archduke dies. Meanwhile, somewhere, deep in the mountains, a cabal headed by a psychotic chief, is gearing up to cause destruction and mayhem around the world. One of the cabal members is Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), a priest who has a considerable influence on Tsar Nicholas of Russia (Tom Hollander). England fears that if Russia withdraws support to them in World War I, they’ll have a tough time. England’s intelligence team is confident that Rasputin must be stopped as he could alter the mind of the Tsar. Hence, Orlando, Conrad, Shola and Polly (Gemma Arterton) head to Russia to carry out Rasputin’s assassination. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Matthew Vaughn's story is quite nice, for a standalone film; the way real-life characters and events have been seamlessly woven into the plot is impressive. However, since it’s a part of the KINGSMAN film series, the storyline is just decent and not as great as the previous two films in the series. The same goes for Matthew Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek's screenplay. The narrative is engaging but the impact is limited as it’s set in an altogether different era. To add to it, the goings-on are fine but not as gripping as in the first two films. A few scenes, however, are exceptionally well thought of. The research is also spot-on. Dialogues are thankfully quite witty and fun and add to the film’s entertainment quotient. Matthew Vaughn's direction leaves a lot to be desired for most parts of the film. One can see the intention of the maker was to inform viewers how the Kingsman began and under what circumstances. However, moviegoers would obviously expect THE KING'S MAN to be in the same zone as KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE [2014] or KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE [2017]. For example, a film like BACK TO THE FUTURE PART III [1990] was also set in a different time zone and yet, it seemed like a film from the same franchise. That doesn’t happen here. The other problem with the film is that it is awarded an ‘A’ certificate. The earlier films of this franchise were too violent but this one is not. Hence, the adults-only rating can curtail its box office prospects. THE KING'S MAN’s opening scene is fine but the first 30-40 minutes are quite weak. One feels as if one’s watching a period drama and not the third part of an established film series. The drama at the trenches is too good, but again, when seen individually. As the part of the KINGSMAN film, it kind of looks out of place and gives a déjà vu of 1917 [2020]. However, one can’t deny that it’s sure to grab attention. Thankfully, the film has its entertaining moments. The fight with Rasputin is totally in the KINGSMAN zone and sets the mood. In the second half, the last 30 minutes are excellent and save the day to a great extent. The parachute and the lift sequences, in particular, stand out. Ralph Fiennes is in fine form and is apt for the part. He’s especially exceptional in the latter part of the film when he’s down and out. Harris Dickinson lends able support. Djimon Hounsou gets his moments to shine. Gemma Arterton is too good in a small role. Rhys Ifans is a surprise and the impact raises many notches in his scenes. Tom Hollander plays as many as three characters - Tsar Nicholas of Russia, King George of England and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and is decent. Charles Dance, Ron Cook and Alexandra Maria Lara are fine in their small roles. Matthew Goode (Morton) leaves a mark. Daniel Brühl (Erik Jan Hanussen) and Aaron Vodovoz (Felix Yuzupov) are wasted. The same goes for Valerie Pachner (Mata Hari); her character is iconic and deserved more screen space. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Archie Reid) is lovely. Matthew Margeson and Dominic Lewis's music has cinematic appeal. Ben Davis's cinematography is spectacular and the hilltop location especially is very well captured. Darren Gilford's production design is rich and very detailed. The action this time is less gory, unlike the previous two KINGSMAN films which were too violent. VFX is top-class. Jason Ballantine and Rob Hall's editing could have been slicker. On the whole, THE KING’S MAN rests on some fine performances and a very exciting climax. However, its treatment and setting are different from the previous two editions in this franchise due to which fans of the series might feel shortchanged. Also, it has been unfairly awarded an ‘A’ certificate despite not being as violent as the prequels. On the positive side, it has got a wide release and doesn’t have any film for competition at the ticket window for the next couple of weeks.

Movie Review: Don't Look Up (English) A crazy black comedy that works despite the unbelievable plot, makes DON'T LOOK UP a film with potential to emerge as one of the most viewed films on Netflix.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

DON’T LOOK UP is the story of two astronomers trying to warn the world about an impending disaster. Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy student at Michigan State University, discovers a Comet that is directly approaching Earth. Her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), makes the calculations which prove that the Comet is 5 to 10 kms wide and that it'll approach Earth in 6 months and 14 days. It is so huge that it will turn out to be a 'planet killer'. They run their findings with scholar Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), who confirms that their calculation is bang-on. The trio immediately reaches White House to meet the USA president, President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep). She is however in the midst of a controversy - her Supreme Court nominee has turned out to be an ex porn star. Since she's busy with this scandal, she is able to give them an audience only the next day. Janie and her son, Chief of Staff Jason (Jonah Hill), moreover, don't take the threat seriously. They argue that even in the past, many had made such the-world-is-ending predictions and all of it turned out to be a hoax. Nevertheless, they promise that they'll assess the situation. With no other option, Kate, Dr Mindy and Oglethorpe leak the information to the press, through Kate's boyfriend Philip (Himesh Patel). The article on their findings appears in The Washington Herald. Philip also arranges Dr Mindy and Kate's appearance in the famous TV chat show, The Daily Rip, hosted by Brie Evantee (Cate Blanchett) and Jack Bremmer (Tyler Perry). Sadly, their appearance on the show happens before that of the famous pop star, Riley Bina (Ariana Grande). On live TV, she admits that she misses her ex-boyfriend, a fellow celeb, DJ Chello (Scott Mescudi). DJ Chello, through a video call, speaks to DJ Chello and they patch up. The moment goes viral on social media. As a result, Kate and Dr Mindy's warning kind of goes unnoticed. Kate also gets enraged by the keep-it-light-and-funny mantra of the show hosts and she loses it. She ends up becoming meme material. Kate, Dr Mindy and Oglethorpe are deciding their next course of action when suddenly they are nabbed by the FBI and taken to the White House. What happens next, forms the rest of the film. Adam McKay and David Sirota's story is incredible and at the same time, it’ll be difficult to digest for some audiences. Adam McKay's screenplay is unique and full of entertaining moments. The dark humour bit is kept intact from start to finish and it also makes an important comment on social media, politics and many other issues. At certain places, the film gets quite serious and a bit disturbing and the change of tone happens organically. Dialogues bring the house down. The one-liners overall are also quite relatable and uses the lingo of today’s times. Adam McKay's direction is as novel as his execution. He has proved his worth with films like THE BIG SHORT [2015], VICE [2018] etc, and his films are executed in a certain way. With DON’T LOOK UP, he goes one step ahead as he takes the madness quotient many notches higher. The film has too many characters and a lot is happening besides the impending Comet. It’s praiseworthy how he seamlessly incorporates all these bits in the film and that too in just 138 minutes of run time. The central idea of the film is that the world is getting over but no one is taking it seriously. It’s difficult to pull off a film with such a plot. But Adam succeeds very well. However, at a few places, the film gets into a zone where it seems like the makers are trivializing the issue. The climax will leave audiences divided. In fact, much of the second half will have its critics. To see how the world takes the issue lightly, even when the Comet gets visible to the naked eye, gets a bit unconvincing. DON’T LOOK UP’s opening scene is not as engaging. But the film goes on another level once Kate, Dr Mindy and Oglethorpe are made to wait in the White House for hours and even made to pay for free snacks! Their conversation with the President is hilarious and same goes for Kate and Dr Mindy’s appearance on The Daily Rip. The twist in the tale at the mid-point is unpredictable. The track of billionaire Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) takes centre-stage and it gives a nice touch. The film continues to hold interest but as mentioned above, the goings-on become a bit too convenient, considering the threat faced by mankind in the film. DON’T LOOK UP has several prominent actors and all of them are utilized well. Leonardo DiCaprio might seem to be playing a very boring and a niche character. But he’s very entertaining and with his performance, he proves yet again that he’s one of the greatest actors of our times. Jennifer Lawrence probably has the maximum screen time and is too good in her complex role. Meryl Streep is flawless as always and her character seems to be taking a dig on a certain ex-President. Jonah Hill is dependable and only he could have pulled off a character like this. Cate Blanchett leaves a huge mark. Mark Rylance had a difficult role to essay but passes with flying colours. This is yet another Oscar-nomination worthy performance from him. Timothée Chalamet (Yule) is efficient in a cameo and adds to the star appeal. Rob Morgan is missing in between but dominates the beginning and climax to an extent. Himesh Patel, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Ron Perlman (Benedict Drask), Melanie Lynskey (June Mindy) and Paul Guilfoyle (General Themes) do well in their small roles. Chris Evans (Devin Peters) is hilarious in a cameo. Ishaan Khatter also appears in the film for around 10 seconds. Nicholas Britell's music is in sync with the filmmaker’s approach and the film’s narrative. Linus Sandgren's cinematography is neat. Clayton Hartley's production design is appropriate. Susan Matheson's costumes are realistic and the ones worn by Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Timothée Chalamet are memorable. VFX is a bit tacky in the post-credit scene but is great in the scenes of the Comet. Hank Corwin's editing is creative and the quick cuts add a lot to the film. On the whole, DON’T LOOK UP is a crazy black comedy that works despite the unbelievable plot. Thanks to the entertainment quotient and the ensemble cast, it has the potential to emerge as one of the most viewed films on Netflix.

Movie Review: Atrangi Re Despite an unconevtional plot ATRANGI RE addresses a pertinent topic, that is, mental health

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

ATRANGI RE is the story of a girl in love with two men. Rinku Suryavanshi (Sara Ali Khan) resides in Siwan, Bihar with her extended family. The extended family killed Rinku's parents when she was a child. Rinku is in love with a mysterious man named Sajjad (Akshay Kumar) and has eloped with him multiple times. After her latest failed elopement, her maternal grandmother (Seema Biswas) gets fed up with her. She tells her family to get her married with any man available, preferably someone from outside Bihar. Her family members spot Vishu (Dhanush) in their town. He's a medical student who has come to Siwan for a camp. His marriage is already fixed with his girlfriend Mandakini aka Mandy (Dimple Hayati) and their engagement is just a few days away. Rinku's family abducts him and forces him to get married to Rinku. The next day, they book a ticket for them on a train to Delhi. On the train, Vishu is in a daze over last night's development. Rinku tells Vishu that she is in love with Sajjad and that she'll depart with him once she reaches Delhi. Vishu is relieved to know that even for her, it's a forced marriage. He reaches Delhi, where he studies. Rinku tells him that Sajjad has gone to Africa to study magic and that he'll return in 10 days. Vishu has to leave for Madurai. So, he tells Rinku to stay put at his hostel till Sajjad returns. Or else, she can join him for his engagement in Madurai. Rinku accompanies him to Madurai where Vishu and Mandy get engaged. All is going well until Mandy chances upon the video of Vishu and Rinku's wedding. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Himanshu Sharma's story is innovative and unconventional. The screenplay, however, turns this flawed plot line into a watchable fare. The writer has added some very touching and impressive sequences. Hence, one doesn't mind even if the goings on get too 'atrangi'. Himanshu Sharma's dialogues, as expected, are one of the highpoints as they are very witty and suit the character’s traits. Aanand L Rai's direction is great. His storytelling has evolved and it's evident in several scenes. His biggest victory is that he manages to hold the attention of the audience and give a convincing execution to a plot like this. Any other director could have fallen flat but Aanand comes out with flying colours. He also makes an important comment on mental health. The second hand could have been sharper and a little more sensible though. ATRANGI RE starts off very well. A few scenes in the first half are exceptional like Rinku and Vishu’s forced marriage, their conversation in the train etc. The sequence where Vishu rattles off a monologue in Tamil in front of an emotional Rinku is beautiful. The scene minutes before the intermission point is a shocker. Post-interval, the film continues to be interesting although some developments are difficult to digest. The way Rinku resides peacefully in an all-boys hostel and nobody minds is difficult to comprehend. However, even more unconvincing is how in the second half, all the hostel mates come together to participate in the madness for the sake of Vishu and Rinku’s love story. The ending has another twist and while the conservative audience would reject such a culmination, the ones looking for something ‘hatke’ would lap it up. ATRANGI RE is embellished with some fine performances. Sara Ali Khan had played another ‘atrangi’ character in LOVE AAJ KAL [2020] but it fell flat. However, here, she is in superb form and proves that she is one of the most promising actors today. This was no easy character and as the film progresses, one realizes the character is so layered and complex. However, Sara plays it effortlessly. Dhanush, as expected, gives a rocking performance. He has given several memorable performances over the years and yet, one is blown away with his act in this film. He’s of course impressive during the emotional monologue, his dance in the loo or when he loses it in the train and auto rickshaw. But there are scenes where he has no dialogues and it’s impressive how he communicates with his silences and eyes. Akshay Kumar is lovely in the supporting part. He adds a lot of starry appeal. Ashish Verma (Madhusudhan) is dependable as the sidekick. Seema Biswas and Dimple Hayathi are okay in their small roles. Pankaj Jha (Rinku's mama) and Gopal Dutt (Divorce lawyer) are hardly there and are wasted. One expected more from them. Mannat Mishra (Baby Rinku) is cute. How Sara Ali Khan doesn’t get intimidated by senior actors? She reveals | Atrangi Re A R Rahman's music is soulful and one of the USPs of the film. 'Rait Zara Si' is like a theme of the film. 'Chaka Chak' is foot-tapping and the best of the lot. 'Tere Rang' and 'Toofan Si Kudi' spring a surprise and are well shot. 'Tumhein Mohabbat Hai', 'Garda' and 'Little Little' are not as impressive. A R Rahman's background score is brilliant and it gives a nice touch to several scenes. Pankaj Kumar's cinematography is very good. One doesn’t expect out-of-the-box camerawork in a film of this genre but the lensman surprises. Nitin Zihani Choudhary's production design is very appealing. Ankita Jha's costumes are realistic. Manish Malhotra's costumes for Sara Ali Khan can be trendsetting. Sham Kaushal's action is passable. RedChillies.VFX's VFX is rich. Hemal Kothari's editing could have been tighter. On the whole, ATRANGI RE rests on a very unconventional plot. But it addresses a pertinent topic, that is, mental health which is tackled with sensitivity. Also, the performances, the musical score and several well-executed scenes turn the film into a watchable fare.

Movie Review: The Matrix Resurrections (English) With a complicated and convoluted plot MATRIX RESURRECTIONS leave viewers disenchanted.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

Over 20 years after the release of the first film in the franchise THE MATRIX, we see the release of THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS. Taking the story of Neo AKA Thomas Anderson forward, the film starts off with Keanu Reeves’ character living a normal everyday mundane life as Thomas Anderson. However, he is plagued by dreams and visuals of an alternate life. His therapist put him on certain blue pills that help alleviate the situation. But things come to a front when he is given a red pill. Are the visions he has glimpses of, an alternate reality? Or are they simply dreams or unfulfilled wishes? Will Mr. Anderson understand what they are? Will he take the plunge down the rabbit hole to understand better what THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS is all about? With Lana Wachowski returning to helm the project, great things are expected. But will the new film live up to the legacy left behind by the previous three or will it be just another cash grab attempt that will ultimately ruin a franchise is what we analyse. The film takes off with Mr. Anderson having an encounter with Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who gives him a red pill to open his mind. From here, he is plunged head first into the Matrix, returning to his long forgotten self Neo. However, there isn’t anything new to expect. Given that the film takes the story of Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) forward, it is essentially somewhat of a love story set against the backdrop of an ever changing world with plenty of action. Sadly, THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS is a far cry from the 1999 film. With segments thrown in from each of the previous three parts along with new footage, the film does not make for an appealing watch. In fact, the long drawn out action, and drama sequences make it hard for the viewer to stay seated. Unlike the first film, do not expect stand out scenes that will leave a lasting impression. Moreover, the chemistry between Neo and Trinity seems lost, though both actors, Reeves and Moss try their hardest to ‘resurrect’ the chemistry, it remains a lost cause. On the other hand, the ability of the film to use its own story in a rather ironic fashion is something to watch out for. However, what really takes down the film is that it’s too complicated, even for those who have seen THE MATRIX trilogy. The last part of the series appeared nearly 18 years ago. Many might have not refreshed their memory and watched the three parts before venturing out for THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS. For such viewers, the film is sure to go bouncer. It won’t be wrong to say that even those who would have binged-watched the earlier parts would find it difficult to comprehend what is going on. The complex jargon in the dialogues hampers the impact even more. The release period of the film, on the other hand, is also quite wrong. Talking about performances, Keanu Reeves has done a good job, giving it his all. Returning as Neo/ Thomas Anderson, Reeves manages to get back into the mould that we have witnessed in the previous films. The same goes for Carrie-Anne Moss as well, essaying her role as Trinity/Tiffany Moss does equally well to fit into her character. However, the same cannot be said for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who takes over as the hacker Morpheus from Laurence Fishburne. Despite having limited screen time, with Fishburne’s character appearing from archive footage, Mateen fails to impress. On the other hand, Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst, and Jonathan Groff as Smith both of whom have taken over characters reprised by others in the past, have excelled. In fact, their rendition of their given roles, takes their characters to another level. Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Sati is wasted and is hardly there for around 8-10 minutes. Though she plays a pivotal role in the film, her acting prowess has been highly underutilized. Coming to the visuals, one expects a lot when talking about the fourth film in the MATRIX franchise. Going by what we saw in THE MATRIX, THE MATRIX RELOADED, and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, it is expected that MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS would take things a notch higher. However, here again the viewer is let down. Though the CGI is well executed and seamless, one expects much more. In fact, the 1999 release given its time period was way ahead in terms of technology used. For a film made in 2021, MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS could have been so much better visually. As for Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer's music, there is not much to expect either. Taking a cue from the previous films, the music of MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS is more or less on a similar scale. Do not expect something to stand out. Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll's cinematography is on point. With stunning views, the duo has done a decent job. But, Joseph Jett Sally's editing leaves a lot to be deserted. At 2 hours and 28 minutes, the film is way too long, with certain sequences being drawn out for no reason. The same goes for the action. Though the actors have put their best foot forward, at times the action sequences seem to be never ending, leaving the viewer disenchanted. On the whole, MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS does not live up to the previous films in the franchise. A film that need not have been made, this one does not warrant ruining a franchise. The film has a complicated and convoluted plot that will leave viewers disenchanted. At the Indian box office, it’ll face a very tough time, considering it releases right between last week’s successful films, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME and PUSHPA and the much awaited upcoming film, 83.

Movie Review: 83 83 is a must watch for those who witnessed the victory and for those who didn't as well.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

To encapsulate an iconic victory on celluloid is a Herculean task. More so, if the event took place several decades ago [almost four decades ago, in this case]. Besides getting the details and facts right, the storyteller needs to recreate the bygone era with precision and also make sure the actors portraying the parts resemble those who achieved the heroic victory. Most importantly, since it’s a cinematic format, the storyteller needs to narrate the highs and lows of the victorious past in a succinct manner to keep the moviegoer hooked to the goings-on. In this case, the outcome is known to one and all, but the journey is unknown to many. For this reason, the incidents interwoven in the screenplay ought to be absorbing, avoiding cinematic liberties. Special care should also be taken that it doesn’t become a documentary. 83 attempts to narrate the story of the underdogs - the Indian cricket team - and what transpired behind the scenes before they won the World Cup in 1983. The generation that watched/read about the 1983 win - me included - will recall how everyone was so impatient to know the outcome of the final match. There was no social media [or news portals] then. We had to rely on radio, newspapers and of course, the B&W television to watch the crucial match. The cricketers had become household names and I distinctly remember, we were cheering and praying for the ‘Men in White’ as they took on the mighty West Indies cricket team in the finals. The next morning, the newspapers devoted front-page headlines to celebrate the iconic victory, honouring the heroes and their heroism on the cricket pitch. You relive those moments when you watch 83. Of course, a majority of viewers don’t know the backstory or what actually transpired behind the scenes. The film works for that reason, besides other reasons too. More on that later. For those who recall that era affectionately or were born in the 1990s [or in subsequent years], the World Cup win is immortalised on celluloid with 83. Let’s give you a brief outline of the plot of 83… 1983. The World Cup is all set to be held in UK. The Indian cricket team - led by Kapil Dev [Ranveer Singh] - is participating amidst negligible expectations. Not just the international media, even cricket fans have zilch hopes that Indians would emerge victorious. Pankaj Tripathi: “Zindagi experience ka bhandar hai, jab kam ho jata hai to…”| 83 | Ranveer Singh Director Kabir Khan and his team of writers incorporate pertinent episodes before the Indians were crowned champions. The humiliation, the nervousness, the anxiety, the pressures of facing several legendary players on pitch - 83 encompasses it all. Yet, there are minor hiccups in the first hour especially. The entire conversation that happens in the commentary box [Boman Irani] - while all matches are being played - is in English. Agree, one has to stick to realism, but the lines spoken by Boman could’ve been in Hindi. This will certainly prove to be a hindrance for those who don’t speak/comprehend English. Also, the first half can do with trimming. A few sequences seem stretched, which should’ve been sharpened during the edit for a better impact. There are some moments that make you emotional too and moist-eyed as well. There’s a particular sequence of a child telling Kapil Dev that he won’t be watching Indians play the matches. Another emotional moment comes at the interval point, when the Indians have faced a humiliating defeat by the rival team. Fantastic sequences, both. Things brighten up in the second hour and thankfully, Kabir Khan and the writers get it right for most parts. Deepika’s introduction in this hour is a plus, so is the way the screenwriting moves to the finale. The conclusion is euphoric and am sure, the viewers will greet it with cheers, claps and even ceetees. The best is reserved for the last. Enters Kapil Dev at this point, who narrates some hitherto unknown anecdotes that deserve an ovation. Kabir Khan's direction is splendid. 83 is a tough film to make and despite the presence of competent actors, the film would’ve fallen flat if the execution of the sports-saga would’ve been inferior. Kabir gives his best shot, hits the boundary in the second and third acts, which is what the viewer carries home when he/she exits the auditorium. He balances the drama on pitch and the tears, laughter and smiles in the dressing room skilfully. There’s not much scope for music here, but the one song that stays on your lips is ‘Lehra Do’. The background score is effective. The DoP captures the mood of the film with precision. 83 has a plethora of actors and while each of them have done their parts with utmost sincerity, the captain of the show is undoubtedly Ranveer Singh. He delivers a sparkling performance. 83 is one of those films that proves his versatility. He excels in a character that’s tailor-made for him. Deepika is wonderful, her soothing presence adds to the sequences she features in. Pankaj Tripathi is in terrific form. It’s a joy to watch him on screen. Kabir devotes substantial footage to every member of the prominent cast. The ones who stand out include Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Jatin Sarna and Ammy Virk. On the whole, 83 is a winner - on pitch, on screen too. Those who witnessed the victory would be glad to relive the experience, while those who didn’t, will get a chance to witness how things unfolded during one of the greatest episodes of Indian sports history. Watch it! 83 Movie Review

Movie Review: Pushpa: The Rise - Part 1 PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 [Hindi] is a paisa vasool entertainer and rests on Sukumar’s expert direction, action and Allu Arjun’s starry presence

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 [Hindi] is the story of a badass working in the red sandalwood smuggling industry. In the forest of Seshachalam, the smuggling of red sandalwood goes unabated. The red sandalwood is cut from here and taken illegally to Chennai from where it is shipped to China and even further to Japan. Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) is an illegitimate child of Muletti Venkatraman, a rich landlord in a village. The latter never accepted Pushpa and his mother, Parvati Devi. After his death, his biological son threw the mother-son duo out of their house given by Muletti and left them to fend for themselves. Pushpa grows up doing odd jobs. He has a lot of attitude and hence, gets kicked out of a job. While waiting for his next daily wage job, he finds out that the red sandalwood business pays a lot although the risk is also way higher. He joins the industry as a woodcutter. One day, the police raids while they were busy cutting the wood. Pushpa single-handedly hides the precious red sandalwood from them and doesn’t even open his mouth even though the cops beat him black and blue. Konda Reddy (Ajay Ghosh) runs the smuggling business and Pushpa Raj is their labourer. When he finds out about Pushpa’s bravery, he sends his younger brothers, Jolly Reddy (Dhananjay) and Jakka Reddy, to get his bail done. Pushpa demands Rs. 5 lakhs to reveal the place where he hid the red sandalwood. The brothers agree. Soon, he becomes an important member in Konda Reddy’s gang as he tells them innovative ways of transporting the red sandalwood while avoiding the prying eyes of the police. On the other hand, Pushpa falls for Srivalli (Rashmika Mandanna), who runs a milk business. Meanwhile, Konda Reddy sells the red sandalwood to Mangalam Srinu (Sunil). Srinu is the one who gets the consignment safely to Chennai. Pushpa learns that Srinu earns as much as Rs. 2 crore for every ton of red sandalwood that he sells to Murugan at Chennai port. Srinu, however, pays just Rs. 25 lakhs per ton to Konda Reddy. Pushpa suggests to Konda Reddy that Srinu should insist that he should be paid more. Konda Reddy is apprehensive as he feels it’ll strain his relations with Srinu. Also, Srinu can be quite a menace. Hence, he sends Pushpa to talk to Srinu. At Srinu’s place, all goes wrong and it signals the beginning of a long bloodbath between the two gangs. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sukumar's story is a case of old wine in a new bottle. The idea of a man who rises from nothing and turns into a crime lord has been beaten to death in many films. Sukumar, however, adds his touch and introduces certain powerful characters to keep the interest going. Sukumar's screenplay is topnotch. He has infused excellent entertaining and thrilling moments and ensures that viewers get their money’s worth. He compensates for the clichéd storyline with the jungle and red sandalwood smuggling setting. This factor helps the film to stand out as something of this sort has rarely been seen in our films. Rajendra Sapre’s Hindi dialogues are terrific and add to the fun quotient. Special mention should also go to dubbing director Abul Hasan Ansari as the dub has been carried out very neatly. Sukumar's direction is excellent and, as expected, very massy. The film is mounted on a grand scale and he handles the scale perfectly. He leaves no stone unturned when it comes to showing the hero worship in all its glory. Such films are expected to show their heroes in the massiest avatars and PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 is no exception. However, in the quest to show off Allu Arjun’s bravado and the scale of the film, he doesn’t sacrifice storytelling. The film is nearly 3 hours long but keeps one engaged from start to finish. There’s a lot happening in the film and Sukumar doesn’t leave any scope for boredom. On the flipside, the film has too many characters and it becomes too much, although it probably was done as a sequel is also in the offing. The film drags at places and could have had a faster narrative. The romantic track raises laughs but overall, is not as entertaining as the other tracks. Also, the Hindi audiences are used to watching progressive cinema and some of them might have reservations with some of the scenes of Srivalli, in the first half. PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 starts off by explaining in a simple manner and through animation why the red sandalwood business is much sought after. Pushpa’s entry, as expected, is heroic. The way Pushpa outsmarts DCP Govind not once but twice is quite fun. A scene that stands out here is when Pushpa throws the red sandalwood in the jungle; the way it has been executed has to be seen to be believed. The film, however, also has a strong emotional quotient and the scene where Pushpa’s step brother humiliates him and his mother on the day of his marriage arrests attention. The best scene of the first half is reserved during the intermission point. Single-screen cinemas would go in a frenzy at this point. The film drops from here but thankfully, picks up in the scene where Pushpa bashes up Jolly Reddy. This is followed by the forest and funeral sequences. These three scenes take the second half to dizzying heights. The entry of Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) initially slows down the film. However, the climax is powerful and excites audiences for the sequel. Rashmika on working with Allu Arjun: “It was a LEARNING journey, it was FASCINATING to…”| Pushpa Allu Arjun is in superb form. He is a big star down South but has a considerable following among Hindi speaking audiences. And with his massy avatar, he impresses one and all. His look is quite dashing, his action top-class and his comic timing is spot-on. His dubbing is done by Shreyas Talpade and it contributes to the entertainment quotient. Rashmika Mandanna gives a confident performance and this is an apt film to be introduced to the Hindi audiences before her Bollywood debut next year. Fahadh Faasil has a small but significant role. He’s known for his flawless performances and even here, he’s at his best. Ajay Ghosh is decent while Dhananjay and Sunil leave a mark. Rao Ramesh (MLA) is memorable in the funeral scene. Anasuya Bharadwaj (Daksha; Srinu's wife) is too good as the foul-mouthed wife. The actors playing Keshav (Pushpa's sidekick), Jakka Reddy, Parvati Devi, Muletti Venkatraman, Murugan and Moglis are great. Samantha Ruth Prabhu is sizzling Devi Sri Prasad's music is not of chartbuster variety, at least when it comes to the Hindi soundtrack. All songs, however, are well shot. 'Jaago Jaago Bakre' comes at a clapworthy moment. 'Srivalli' comes up suddenly but is worth a watch especially for Allu Arjun’s dance. 'Eyy Bidda Ye Mera Adda' comes next. 'Saami Saami' is okay but the sets are picturesque. 'Oo Bolega Ya Oo Oo Bolega' is forgettable. Devi Sri Prasad's background score enhances impact. Miroslaw Kuba Brozek's cinematography is breathtaking. S Rama Krishna and Monika Niggotre's production design is realistic and yet cinematic. Resul Pookutty's sound designing could have been better; in certain scenes, the dialogues are not fully audible. Ram-Laxman, Peter Hein, Dragon Prakash and Real Satish's action is one of the film’s USPs as it is imaginative, novel and mainstream. Deepali Noor's costumes are authentic. Karthika Srinivas R and Ruben's editing is appropriate but could have been a bit slicker. On the whole, PUSHPA: THE RISE – PART 01 [Hindi] is a paisa vasool entertainer and rests on Sukumar’s expert direction, action and Allu Arjun’s starry presence.

Movie Review: Spider-Man - No Way Home (English) On the whole, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is definitely a must watch. It won’t be wrong to say that it has BLOCKBUSTER written all over it!

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

After much talk and hype the keenly awaited film SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME finally hits screens this week. But with the film which promises to kick start the next phase of the MCU enthrall the audience is the question. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME starts off with Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. Will Peter Parker survive the impending fight or will he be remembered as another one fallen is what makes up the rest of the film. SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME lives up to expectations. With an engaging first half and a rapidly progressing second, the film keeps the viewer in his seat. Over the past couple of weeks, the media and fans have been in a frenzy talking about what to expect from the film, but SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME still manages to surprise you. It’ll be wrong to give out any plot point and hence it can simply be said that in the second half, the fans will be in for a treat. The goings-on are also unique and never before seen in a Marvel film or any other movie for that matter. The climax and the mid and post credit scenes also add to the fun and drama and make you excitedly wait for the future Marvel films. Director Jon Watts has done a commendable job in retaining the humour, feel and sentiment from the previous MCU films. With plenty of action well interspersed with humourous breaks at key points keep the on screen proceedings light, edgy and gripping. Speaking of performances, there are plenty of people to name, but keeping it just to the key individuals, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Marisa Tomei have excelled in their given roles. A special mention for Holland who has done a fabulous job to depict the inner turmoil his character faces and has to endure. On the other hand, Jon Favreau seems to be terribly under utilized. Despite being a brilliant actor, Favreau seems to be relegated to a side role that helps with comic relief and being a scapegoat. Jacob Batalon as Ned does a commendable job as Peter Parker's best friend and comic interlude. Spider-Man: No Way Home – First Day First Show Public Review | Tom Holland In terms of music, Michael Giacchino has done well to lend the visuals gravitas that keeps viewers glued. The CGI and VFX work are top notch and flawlessly executed making for a seamless visual spectacle. The dialogues deserve a special mention. The one liners are witty and funny and a few of them would be greeted with claps and whistles. On the whole, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is definitely a must watch. From a superhero for kids to leading the next phase of the MCU, Spider-Man had certainly come a long way. At the Indian box office, the tremendous hype and historic advance sales will result in possibly the biggest opening of the year and also a healthy lifetime. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that it has BLOCKBUSTER written all over it!

Movie Review: West Side Story (English) WEST SIDE STORY has the potential to record decent footfalls in Indian cinemas due to Steven Spielberg’s association, and the hype.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

WEST SIDE STORY is a love story of two youngsters from different ethnic backgrounds. The film is set in the 1950s in New York City. The Upper West Side of the city is going on for redevelopment and lower class people residing in the locality have been asked to leave. Two rival street gangs control this area - the Jets, which consists of the Whites and is led by Riff (Mike Faist) while the Sharks, which consists of Puerto Ricans and is led by Bernardo (David Alvarez). One of the founding members of the Jets, Tony (Ansel Elgort), has just been released from prison. He was arrested after he nearly killed a rival gang member belonging to a different ethnic community. He has now reformed and works at a drugstore, and prefers to stay away from violence. At an upcoming dance event, members of both the gangs and their siblings make their presence felt. The organizers intend to use this opportunity to form a bond between the two groups. But the effort proves futile as the Whites and the Puerto Ricans prefer to dance among themselves. Tony attends the event and is mesmerized by Maria (Rachel Zegler), sister of Bernardo. She has come with her date, Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera), but is not interested in him. She spots Tony and both dance, away from everyone’s eye and, even kiss. However, they get caught, leading to an altercation between the two gangs. Both decide to fight it out the next night. What happens next forms the rest of the film. WEST SIDE STORY is based on the stage musical of the same name written by Arthur Laurents. The story is inspired by William Shakespeare's play Romeo And Juliet. The Indian viewers will also be reminded of Shah Rukh Khan-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer JOSH [2000] as it has the street gang connection (the film was also inspired by WEST SIDE STORY). Tony Kushner's screenplay is neat and entertaining. The characters are very well fleshed out and most importantly, he also nicely informs viewers about the problems faced by people of various ethnic communities and lower classes. The dialogues are sharp but the romantic ones are sure to tug at heartstrings. A lot of racial slurs are also heard in the film but that’s as per the script’s requirement. Steven Spielberg's direction is, as expected, supreme and old-fashioned. He handles the film in such a way that one feels like watching an old classic. The colour tone also compliments this aspect. At the same time, he also uses the modern sensibilities of filmmaking and this fusion created on celluloid makes for a delightful watch. Despite the presence of so many songs, for most parts of the film, one is completely immersed. The love story and the track of Anita (Ariana DeBose) and Bernardo are the best portions. On the flipside, at 2 hours 36 minutes, it is quite a lengthy film. It would not have been a problem if it was engaging from start to finish. There are too many tracks and towards the later part of the film, a few songs seem unnecessary or should we say, wrongly placed. Hence, Indian viewers, who are not used to watching western musicals, might get restless in the second half. Agreed that they wholeheartedly accepted LA LA LAND [2016] but that was a shorter film at 128 minutes and had fewer songs. Another major problem with the film is that nearly 10-15% of the dialogues are in Spanish. And as per Steven Spielberg’s directive, those dialogues have not been subtitled. This creates a language barrier and in India, it becomes a bit weird since there are English subtitles available for English dialogues but not for Spanish dialogues! A few Spanish lines are self-explanatory but some are uttered in crucial sequences. Since audiences won’t be able to figure out what’s being said in these scenes, it’ll hamper the impact. WEST SIDE STORY starts with a breath-taking shot that educates viewers about the setting and the era in which the film is based. The street gang fight in the beginning with the dash of dance sets the mood. The entry scenes of Tony and Maria are lovely. But the film takes off when they both meet and also when they meet at Maria’s fire escape. The various songs add to the fun. The scene where the fight takes place in the salt shed is a shocker. One expects the film to end soon but here it starts to drag. The song 'I Feel Pretty' seems unnecessary here and should have been placed somewhere else, or maybe shouldn’t have been there in the movie at all. 'A Boy Like That' also slows down the narrative and it looks appropriate for a stage version of the story. In the film, it’s the only song, which seems unconvincing. The climax is moving. Ansel Elgort is excellent as the loverboy. He had earlier played an all-out romantic role in THE FAULT IN OUR STARS [2014] and it remains to be one of his most memorable performances. His performance in the film comes very close though here, he puts up a restrained act. Rachel Zegler looks stunning and it is difficult to say that it is her debut performance. She had a challenging role but she plays it effortlessly. Ariana DeBose is terrific and is a sure shot Oscar worthy performance. She dances like a dream. David Alvarez and Mike Faist are fine in the roles of aggressive gang founders. Josh Andrés Rivera has a crucial part and does well. Rita Moreno (Valentina) is lovely. Brian d'Arcy James (Officer Krupke), Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank) and Iris Menas (Anybodys) are decent. Leonard Bernstein's music is one of the USPs of the film. The same songs, which were there in the musical, are played in the film and are arranged perfectly by David Newman. The most memorable songs of the lot are 'Maria', 'America', 'Something's Coming', 'Gee, Officer Krupke' and 'Tonight'. 'Tonight', especially, is terrific and the idea that everyone is waiting for the night for their own reasons makes for a fine watch. 'America' is also well thought of and very well-choreographed. Janusz Kamiński's cinematography is remarkable and has an old-world feel. Adam Stockhausen's production design is detailed and brings the past era alive. Paul Tazewell's costumes are very appealing and authentic. Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar's editing is unhurried. On the whole, WEST SIDE STORY is a fine piece of cinema and embellished with noteworthy performances and music score. The film has the potential to record decent footfalls in Indian cinemas due to Steven Spielberg’s association, the hype and the fact that it has chances to excel at the Oscars. However, the long length, too many songs and absence of English subtitles for Spanish dialogue will reduce the impact to some extent.

Movie Review: Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui CHANDIGARH KARE AASHIQUI is recommended. The superlative performances of Ayushmann and Vaani are like the icing on the cake.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

CHANDIGARH KARE AASHIQUI is a mind-bending love story. Maninder aka Manu Munjal (Ayushmann Khurrana) lives with his father (Girish Dhamija) and grandfather (Aanjjan Srivastav) and is a gym trainer. His sisters Preet (Tanya Abrol) and Meet (Sawan Rupowali) are married and they try to dominate his life and his choices. His father, meanwhile, is trying to force him to quit being a bodybuilder as he's not earning much. He has lost a bodybuilding championship two consecutive times to Sandy (Abhishek Bajaj), a fellow bodybuilder. Manu is gearing up for the upcoming edition of the tournament but he doesn't seem to be in his best form. Life is not going great but one day, he meets Maanvi Brar (Vaani Kapoor). She has rented a vacant space in Manu's gym to conduct Zumba classes. Both soon strike a friendship. When Manu injures himself in the gym, Maanvi takes him to the hospital and even drops him at home. His family members get excited to see him with a girl as they have been behind his life to get married. Manu clarifies that she is just a friend but it falls on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Manu actually falls for her. On the day of Holi, they get intimate. Before they have sex, Maanvi stops him for a second to clarify something. Manu doesn’t let her speak and kisses her. From here on, they begin a romantic relationship. One day, when Manu is at Maanvi's place, he proposes marriage. At this point, Maanvi reveals a shocking truth about her life. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Abhishek Kapoor, Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjpe's story is progressive, refreshing, and the need of the hour as it drives home an important message. Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjpe's screenplay is highly entertaining and commercial. In the second half, however, the writing could have been stronger. Supratik Sen and Tushar Paranjpe's dialogues are fine and raise laughs here and there. But there was an opportunity to have some great punchlines in nearly every sentence. In this regard, the writers missed the boat. However, a few dialogues are sharp and Vaani Kapoor's monologue at the interval point is clapworthy. Abhishek Kapoor's direction is neat. He treats the film in a commercial manner and ensures that though the topic is bold, the film is very much mainstream. His execution is also a surprise as it’s unlike his previous films like ROCK ON [2008], KAI PO CHE [2013], FITOOR [2016] and KEDARNATH [2018]. Some scenes are exceptional, especially the ones dealing with Maanvi and her dilemma. Abhishek deserves kudos as he handles this bit very sensitively and even defies stereotype. On the flipside, though the first half is excellent, in the second half, the film drops a bit. After Maanvi's revelation, it seemed like the writers did not know what to do to keep the interest going. They do pepper the narrative with some interesting scenes but it’s not as impactful as the scenes in the first half. Thankfully, the film picks up from the pre-climax. CHANDIGARH KARE AASHIQUI is just 117 minutes long and introduces the characters immediately and neatly. The way the romance blooms between them is believable. The lovemaking scenes are intense but not too bold as well. The scene where Maanvi makes the big confession is arresting but even more impactful is the intermission point. In the second half, it’s the hospital sequence from where the film gets back on track. The climax is nail-biting and would be enjoyed by the viewers. Ayushmann Khurrana is in top form as always. And this time too, he gives everything to his character, including an impressive physical transformation. He is known for choosing risqué topics and CHANDIGARH KARE AASHIQUI is no exception. He deserves kudos for yet again stepping out of his comfort zone and taking up a role that not many actors would have dared to accept. Vaani Kapoor is outstanding and is sure to surprise audiences. This was a challenging part but she essays her it with perfection and most importantly, with sensitivity. She also deserves praise for agreeing to do this part, which many actresses might not even touch with a barge pole. She will definitely be seen in a new light after this film. Kanwaljit Singh (Brigadier Mohinder Brar) is adorable. Karishma Singh (Akshita; Maanvi's friend) leaves a huge mark. Girish Dhamija and Aanjjan Srivastav are okay. Tanya Abrol is apt for the part while Sawan Rupowali lends able support. Abhishek Bajaj and Satwant Kaur (Navjot Brar; Maanvi's mother) are decent. Goutam Sharma (Jomo) and Gourav Sharma (Riz) are fine as the twin brothers cum Manu's sidekicks. Yograj Singh (Guruji) is average. Sachin-Jigar's music is foot-tapping. The title song, played in the end credits, is well shot. 'Kheech Te Nach' is the best of the lot. 'Kalle Kalle' and 'Maafi' are touching. 'Tumbe Te Zumba' is decent. 'Attraction' is played in the lovemaking sequence and is again, picturised nicely. Sachin-Jigar's background score is appropriate. Manoj Lobo's cinematography is neat. Allan Amin and Vishal Bhargav's action is realistic. Bindiya Chhabria's production design is appealing. Shruti Kapoor and Akshay Tyagi's costumes are glamorous. Chandan Arora's editing is slick. On the whole, CHANDIGARH KARE AASHIQUI tackles a bold and taboo subject sensitively and is high on emotions. The superlative performances of Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor are like the icing on the cake. Recommended!

Movie Review: Tadap Despite well executed scenes, and shocking twists Tadap suffers from an outdated and clichéd storyline

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

TADAP is the story of an obsessed lover. Ishana (Ahan Shetty) lives in Mussoorie with his adopted father who is addressed by everyone as Daddy (Saurabh Shukla). Daddy is a close aide of Damodar Nautiyal (Kumud Mishra), a politician who is fighting the state elections. Ishana runs a theatre and helps Daddy and Damodar in political activities. On the day of vote counting, Damodar's daughter Ramisa (Tara Sutaria) returns from the United Kingdom where she is studying. Damodar wins the elections and when Ishana is celebrating the former’s victory, Ramisa spots him. She gets attracted to him. Soon, she befriends him and even confesses that she is attracted to him. Ishana falls crazily in love with her. One day, she tells him that Damodar is compelling him to get married. She assures Ishana that she will convince her father to change his mind and that they should not meet for a few days. She kisses and leaves him and at that exact moment, Damodar sees them. He and Ramisa's grandmother decide to separate the lovers and teach Ishana a lesson. What happens next forms the rest of the film. TADAP is the official remake of the Telugu film RX 100 [2018]. Ajay Bhupathi's story is ordinary in the first half but the twist in the second half is unpredictable. Rajat Arora's screenplay is engaging. RX 100 was a lengthy film but Rajat has shortened the narrative at several places for a better impact. He also added some interesting scenes; the scene where Ishaana and Ramisa exchange books is one case in point. On the flipside, the first half doesn’t have anything new and might test the patience of the viewers. Also, the obsession of Ishana is not convincing or even logical. Rajat Arora's dialogues are impressive. He is known for penning memorable one-liners and has peppered the film with some sharp dialogues. Milan Luthria's direction is simple and entertaining. He has treated the film in such a manner that viewers of all strata of society and across all centres will be able to relate to it. While the basic narrative is the same as RX 100, the Telugu film was far more violent. Milan has tried his best to down the bloodshed and yet ensure that the desired impact is made. A few scenes are very well helmed like the scene where Ramisa hugs Ishana or Ishana’s grand entry. The 'Tumse Bhi Zyada' song also arrests attention and the parallels made between two drastically different situations is seen to be believed. The twist comes as a bolt from the blue but once the suspense is unveiled, the film falls a bit yet again. The finale is thrilling but might not be acceptable to all sections of viewers. And the biggest problem is that the film feels outdated. Viewers will find it difficult to accept that a guy can get so obsessed with a girl in this day and age. TADAP has a thrilling beginning. The entry of Ishaan followed by the opening fight sets the mood. Viewers will be curious to know why Ishana is so angry and why this hatred for Damodar. A few scenes of flashback portions stand out but overall, the first half is weak as it is clichéd. The second half starts off well but after a point, runs out of steam. The way Ishana gets obsessed with Ramisa and tries to snatch her away puts off viewers. The twist in the tale thankfully saves the day. The final fight and the finale will leave viewers divided. Tadap Public Review | Ahan Shetty | Tara Sutaria | Milan Luthria Ahan Shetty makes a confident debut. He is a bit stiff in certain scenes but at places, he shines very well. This is more so in the second half. The climax gives him a ripe opportunity to show his acting prowess and he succeeds largely. Tara Sutaria is a revelation. She gives a fine performance, very different from her acts in her previous two films. Saurabh Shukla is adorable while Kumud Mishra is dependable. Sumit Gulati (LOL) is poor. Saurav Chakrabarti (Guthli) has a crucial part and does very well. Rajesh Khera (Inspector Negi) and the actors playing Kashinath and Ramisa’s grandmother do not get much scope. Pritam Chakraborty's music is of the chartbuster variety. 'Tumse Bhi Zyada' is already a rage and comes at a significant juncture in the film. Same goes for 'Tere Siva Jag Mein'. 'Hoye Ishq Na'. 'Tu Mera Hogaya Hai', however, is forgettable. John Stewart Eduri's background score gives the film a commercial feel. Ragul Herian Dharuman's cinematography is appropriate. The locales of Mussoorie, Rishikesh and the single screen theatre are well shot. Ajay Vipin's production design is apt. Stefan Richter, Vikram Dahiya’s action is mildly violent, and that will give the film a far more appeal. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are appealing. The ones worn by Saurabh Shukla stand out. Rajesh G Pandey's editing is decent. On the whole, TADAP rests on some well executed scenes, shocking twist and a fine debut by Ahan Shetty. However, the clichéd and outdated storyline is a major downside of the film. At the box office, it will turn out to be an Average fare.

Movie Review: Bob Biswas BOB BISWAS boasts is an interesting thriller with a fine script, impeccable direction, and good performances.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

BOB BISWAS is the story of a contract killer who has lost his memory. Bob Biswas (Abhishek A Bachchan) is married to Mary Biswas (Chitrangda Singh) and has a son Benny (Ronith Arora) and daughter Mini (Samara Tijori). 8 years ago, Bob met with an accident and has been in a coma since. Bob regains consciousness but has no memory of his past life. He doesn't even recognize Mary or his children. Bob tries his best to adjust thanks to Mary who provides him with all the love and support to sail through this difficult time. Slowly, Bob forms a bond with Benny and Mini. He learns that Mini is his stepdaughter and that Mary was earlier married to David (Karanuday Jenjani). Bob married her after David passed away in an accident. One day, two police officers, Jishu Narang (Bhanu Uday Goswami) and Kharaj Sahu (Vishwanath Chatterjee), take Bob Biswas to a hideout. They inform Bob that he is a contract killer and that he has worked for them in the past. They start giving him contracts to kill people. Bob, at first, is apprehensive but he soon goes for it. His first two victims are Bubai (Purab Kohli) and Rahul (Kunal Verma), both of whom were in the business of selling a powerful and banned drug, code named 'Blue'. When Bob goes to kill Rahul, he suddenly gets flashes of his earlier life. He also realizes that David didn't die by accident but was killed. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Sujoy Ghosh's story is interesting and serves as a nice origin story of the iconic character from his much-loved film, KAHAANI [2012]. However, it gives a one déjà vu of similar films like PRINCE [2010] or the Hollywood films like THE BOURNE IDENTITY [2002], PAYCHECK [2003] etc. wherein the protagonists similarly lose their memory. Sujoy Ghosh's screenplay is very effective. He has infused some nice dramatic and emotional moments in the film that keep the interest going. There are multiple characters but most of them serve an important purpose and are well fleshed out. However, he leaves several questions unanswered. Sujoy Ghosh and Raj Vasant's dialogues are sharp yet simple. Diya Annapurna Ghosh's direction is supreme, especially considering that this is her first film. Since Bob Biswas is a character from the film KAHAANI, it was important that this film is also set in a similar zone. Diya succeeds very well in this regard as the look and treatment is just like the 2012 film. The dark humour bit is very strong in this film and one of the USPs. Besides the thrill element, the family track of Bob is something to watch out for, especially his bond with Mary. However, the film is not without its share of blemishes. A major problem is that a few bits are not explained, like how Bob lost his memory. The intentions of Jishu and Kharaj behind killing Bubai, Rahul etc. is bewildering and no attempt is made to explain the motive behind these killings. Lastly, the pace of the film is slow and hence, it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Abhishek Bachchan: “Shah Rukh Khan’s BELIEF in storytelling & storytellers…”| Rapid Fire | Bob Biswas BOB BISWAS begins with the drug mafia track. The opening credits are a bit psychedelic that goes with the drug angle. The initial scenes of Bob are decent but nothing special. It is only when Bob kills his irritating neighbour (Kanchan Mullick) that the film goes on a different level. The scenes of Kali Da (Paran Bandopadhyay) are a delight. Post-interval, the interest is maintained, though the unhurried narrative does test patience at a few places. The pre-climax and climax is very arresting. The tribute to KAHAANI in the end is nicely done. Abhishek A Bachchan comes out with flying colours. It was a risk as he was stepping into a role, which was played flawlessly by another actor earlier (Saswata Chatterjee). But Abhishek ensures that there won’t be any complaints. He has minimal dialogues and he communicates with his eyes and silences, and it is something to watch out for. Chitrangda Singh is adorable and she lights up the scene whenever she enters the frame. Samara Tijori makes a confident debut. Ronith Arora is cute but doesn’t get much screen time. Paran Bandopadhyay is terrific. He plays a very intriguing part, which deserves a spin-off. Tina Desai (Indira Verma) leaves a mark. Purab Kohli is memorable in a cameo. Bhanu Uday Goswami, Vishwanath Chatterjee, Rajatava Dutta (Shekhar Chatterjee) and Kunal Verma are decent. Kanchan Mullick raises laughs. Kaushik Raj Chakraborty (Ustad) is passable. Amar Upadhyay (Saubhik Das) plays an interesting part, but is wasted. Deepro Sen (Ayan; the bully kid in the school) is too good in the scene when Abhishek Bachchan threatens him. Pavbitra Rabha (Dhonu; Chinese stall owner) lends able support. Sharad Joshi (Shontu; the person desparate for drugs), Late Yusuf Husain (Dr Mehta), Piyush Lalwani (Ishaan; the guy supplying 'Blue' to Mini), Barun Chanda (Priest) and Gulan Kriplani (Durga Dwivedi; senior officer) are good. Karanuday Jenjani aka Kiran Janjani doesn’t have much to do. Music is not of the chartbuster variety but is well-woven into the script. 'Jaanoon Na' is played in the opening credits, while 'Tu Toh Gaya Re' is played in the background in some interesting scenes. Clinton Cerejo and Bianco Gomes's background score is in sync with the theme and mood of the film. Gairik Sarkar's cinematography is spectacular and captures the locales of Kolkata beautifully. It is also a pleasure to see the City of Joy after ages. Madhumita Sen Sharma, Ajay Sharma and Rajesh Choudhary's production design is appealing and old-fashioned. Sham Kaushal's action is realistic. Jia Bhagia and Mallika Chauhan's costumes are straight out of life. Yasha Jaidev Ramchandani's editing could have been slicker. On the whole, BOB BISWAS is an interesting thriller and rests on a fine script by Sujoy Ghosh, able direction by Diya Annapurna Ghosh and the excellent performance of Abhishek A Bachchan.

Movie Review: Antim - The Final Truth ANTIM THE FINAL TRUTH has an entertaining first half and the face off between Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma keeps the interest going.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

ANTIM - THE FINAL TRUTH is the story of the rivalry between a cop and a gangster. Rahul (Aayush Sharma) lives with his parents and sister in a village near Pune, Maharashtra. His father Datta Pehelwan (Sachin Khedekar) owned a land but he sold it to Shinde (Uday Tikekar) for an unreasonable price, for the lavish marriage celebration of the former's daughter, Seema (Siddhi Dalvi). Shinde builds a farm house on Datta's land and Datta is employed there as a security guard. Shinde ill-treats him and one day, he fires him from the job on a frivolous pretext. The family then moves to Pune where Datta Pehelwan starts working as a porter in the vegetable market. The goons of the local corporator, Salvi (Vijay Nikam), demand hafta from all the porters. A porter, Satya (Mahesh Manjrekar), one day, refuses to pay. The goons beat him up. Rahul and his friend Ganya (Rohit Haldikar) attack the goons. Rahul and Ganya are arrested and taken to the nearest police station, which is headed by Rajveer Singh (Salman Khan). He is a righteous officer and refuses to release them despite pleas from Dutta Pehelwan and Seema. Rajgir also tells Rahul to not break the law as it can cause problems to his family. In prison, Satya and Ganya are attacked by Salvi's men. The fight is stopped by Nanya Bhai (Upendra Limaye). He sees potential in Rahul and Ganya. Once they are out of jail, Rahul expresses desire to teach Salvi a lesson. Rahul and Ganya get a chance to do so one day but they accidentally end up killing him. They are back in jail but this time, Nanya Bhai gets their bail done. Rahul then fights for the rights of the farmers who come to the vegetable market. He decides to give everyone a fair price for their produce. Nanya Bhai sees potential in Rahul's business model and he becomes a partner. Rahul also starts doing Nanya Bhai's dirty work like getting farm lands forcefully from poor peasants. Rahul sees nothing wrong in that but one day, Satya informs him that it was Nanya Bhai who compelled Datta Pehelwan to sell his land at a rate below the market price. Nanya had also threatened to rape Seema if Datta Pehelwan had refused the offer. Meanwhile, MLA Ambir (Sharad Ponkshe), arch nemesis of Nanya, tells Rahul to finish Nanya. What happens next forms the rest of the film. ANTIM - THE FINAL TRUTH is the official remake of the 2018 Marathi film MULSHI PATTERN [written and directed by Pravin Tarde]. Pravin Tarde's story touches upon some important issues like land mafia, migration of rural population and their exploitation in urban areas, etc. Mahesh V Manjrekar, Abhijeet Deshpande and Siddarth Salvi's screenplay is decent in the first half but is unexciting in the second half. The characters and the plot points are such that the film could have gone to great heights. Instead, the writers pepper the narrative with beaten-to-death and insipid scenes post intermission. A few scenes, however, are exceptionally penned. Mahesh V Manjrekar, Abhijeet Deshpande and Siddarth Salvi's dialogues are sharp and commercial, without going over the top. Mahesh V Manjrekar's direction is fine. The veteran director tries his best to make the goings-on exciting. He also gives a very realistic look and realistic setting to the film. A few sequences are very arresting like Rajveer and Rahul’s meetings in the police station and Rahul’s assault on Salvi. The intermission point is dramatic. Post-interval, two sequences stand out – one, when Manda (Mahima Makwana) admonishes Rahul in front of hundreds in the market, and two, when Rahul tells Datta to come stay with him and the latter refuses. Barring these two sequences and the climax, the second half is unimaginative. The grand plan of Rajveer to start a war between the warring gangs is childish and is presented as the greatest plan ever thought by a character in a film. ANTIM - THE FINAL TRUTH doesn’t waste time and the characters and their problems are introduced at the very start. Rajveer’s entry is heroic. The first half is engaging and one expects the film will turn to be a great fare in the second half, especially after Rajveer and Rahul’s fight at the interval point. Sadly, the film goes downhill after the interval. The chase and the final fight is when the film picks up. But the film ends on a very dark and depressing note. Also, the film is very local in nature. Due to these two factors, the film’s reach might be limited. Aayush Sharma: “An ADVICE I received from Salman Khan that I’ll follow all my life is…”| Rapid Fire Salman Khan is not in top form but he manages to create impact in a few scenes. Thankfully, he has a significant role and is there in the film from start to finish. Aayush Sharma has improved a lot from his debut film, LOVEYATRI [2018]. The actor has worked hard and it shows. Besides an able performance, his dialogue delivery is also praiseworthy. Mahima Makwana makes a confident debut and is memorable in the scene where she blasts Aayush. Sachin Khedekar is dependable. Upendra Limaye leaves a huge mark in a small role. Uday Tikekar is decent while Vijay Nikam is good in the cameo. Mahesh Manjrekar plays a role similar to the one he played in DABANGG [2010]. His dialogues are difficult to understand. Jisshu Sengupta (Pitya) and Nikitin Dheer (Daya) are poor. Prem Dharmadhikari (Sidhu) gives a decent performance and has a significant role. Rohit Haldikar is there for most parts of the film but doesn’t have much to do. Sayaji Shinde (Uday) and Bharat Ganeshpure (Lawyer) lend able support. Sharad Ponkshe, Siddhi Dalvi and Chhaya Kadam (Rahul's mother) don’t get much scope. Waluscha De Sousa looks gorgeous in the item song. Hitesh Modak's music is forgettable. The only song that stands out is 'Koi Toh Aayega'; it is played in the background and enhances impact. The rest of the songs - 'Bhai Ka Birthday', 'Hone Laga', 'Chingari' and 'Vignaharta' are disappointing. Ravi Basrur's background score has the massy vibe. Karan B Rawat's cinematography is passable, but certain top angle drone shots of the market are spectacular. Vikram Dahiya's action is not gory and works well. The intro action scene by ANL Arasu is the best action piece in the film. Prashant R Rane's production design is realistic. Ashley Rebello and Alvira Khan Agnihotri's costumes are real and yet appealing. Bunty Nagi's editing is neat. On the whole, ANTIM - THE FINAL TRUTH has an entertaining first half and the face-off between Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma keeps the interest going. But the unexciting second half diminishes the overall impact. Antim Review

Movie Review: Satyameva Jayate 2 SATYAMEVA JAYATE 2 is a power packed mass entertainer with entertaining moments and bravura performance by John Abraham

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

SATYAMEVA JAYATE 2 is the story of a family's fight against corruption. Satya Balram Azaad (John Abraham) is the home minister in a coalition government in Uttar Pradesh. He tries to pass an anti-corruption bill in the assembly but his own alliance partners oppose. Interestingly, one of the MLA who votes against the bill is Satya's wife, Vidya Azaad (Divya Khosla Kumar). She is the daughter of Chandra Prakash (Harsh Chhaya), the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, the doctors in a government hospital in the state go on strike. A mother pleads them to treat her daughter who has met with an accident. The doctor leading the strike refuses. The victim dies in front of the protesting doctors and media. The same night, a vigilante (John Abraham), kills the doctor leading the strike in an act of revenge. His death leads to the strike being withdrawn. The vigilante becomes an overnight hero. Chandra Prakash is not impressed and he tells DCP Upadhyaya (Anup Soni) to find the culprit. The DCP hands over the case to Jay Balram Azaad (John Abraham), twin brother of Satya Balram Azaad. On the other hand, another scandal rocks the state as many children fall ill after consuming a meal in a madrasa. In the government hospital where they are admitted, there's shortage of oxygen cylinders. Hence, 40 of those kids die. Satya finds out that the spoilt foodgrains were supplied by a relative of Tripathi (Daya Shankar Prasad). And the one responsible to supply oxygen in the government hospital is a close aide of Shankar Prasad (Zakir Hussain). Both Tripathi and Shankar are from the alliance party and they threaten to withdraw support when Satya confronts them. It now comes to light that the vigilante is none other than Satya. He now kills both Tripathi and Shankar. A few days later, a third incident occurs as a flyover in the state collapses. The contractor of the flyover, Madan Lal Joshi (Rituraj Singh) refuses to take responsibility. Jay and others conclude that he's going to get killed by the vigilante. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Milap Milan Zaveri's story is massy, as expected. He has touched upon a lot of issues, many of which are relatable for the common man. However in the second half, too many issues are presented and they come across as standalone issues. Milap Milan Zaveri's screenplay is very engaging. The script is such that the film never gets low or dull. Something or the other is constantly happening from start to finish. Milap Milan Zaveri's dialogues are clapworthy. There are some powerful one liners in nearly every sentence and this is really commendable. Milap Milan Zaveri's direction is supreme and it's clear that he has evolved. This isn't an easy film to pull off as it has three characters, all of which are played by one actor and moreover, it is treated in a very commercial manner. Some scenes are executed exceptionally. In fact, the entry of Jay Balram Azaad, the interval point, the fight sequence of Dadasaab Balram Azaad (John Abraham) etc. will create a riot in cinemas. On the flipside, while the first half moves like a rocket, the second half dips slightly. The Karwa Chauth scene slows down the narrative. Also, the film might not be everyone's cup of tea as it is a complete mass film in all respects. SATYAMEVA JAYATE 2 starts off with a bang without wasting any time. The assembly scene is rocking but the film gets better as Satya kills the vigilante and later the corrupt netas. The entry of Jay is a highlight and the way the national anthem is incorporated is seen to be believed. The twist in the interval point comes as a bolt from the blue. Post interval, the flashback portion of Dadasaab is engaging. The film then falls but picks up in the finale. SATYAMEVA JAYATE 2 is completely a John Abraham show. The actor has outdone himself and has played the three characters in a superb manner. Each character stands out but the cop one is the one where he plays to the gallery and it'll be loved by the masses followed by the farmer one. Divya Khosla Kumar looks stunning and delivers an able performance. Harsh Chhaya is decent. Anup Soni doesn't get much scope. Daya Shankar Prasad and Zakir Hussain are decent. Gautami Kapoor (Suhasini) leaves a tremendous mark. Rajendra Gupta, Shaad Randhawa, Sahil Vaid, Saleem Shah, Bhagyashree Limaye and others lend able support. Nora Fatehi is sizzling hot. The Music of the film is fine. 'Kusu Kusu' is a chartbuster already. 'Tenu Lehenga' comes at a great juncture. 'Jann Gann Mann' is very touching. 'Meri Zindagi Hai Tu' is the best song of the album and romantic one. Sanjoy Chowdhury's background score is loud but it works well for the film. The Dadasaab theme is memorable. Dudley's cinematography is appropriate. Amin Khatib's action is one of the highlights of the film. But at a few places, it is raw and quite gory. Priya Suhass's production design adds to the film's appeal. Akshaye Tyagi's costumes are realistic yet glamorous. Nora Fatehi's costumes (by Sandeep Khosla, Abu Jani) are quite hot. Futureworks and Variate Studio's VFX is neat. Maahir Zaveri's editing is fine in the first half but could have been better and slicker in the second half. On the whole, SATYAMEVA JAYATE 2 is a power packed mass entertainer, and is embellished with some highly entertaining moments and a bravura performance by John Abraham. At the box office, it has the potential to open huge and sustain well in the long run.

Movie Review: Bunty Aur Babli 2 BUNTY AUR BABLI 2 is a poor show and no way close to the first part.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

BUNTY AUR BABLI 2 is the story of two pairs of conmen. 15 years after the events of the first film, Rakesh (Saif Ali Khan) and Vimmi (Rani Mukerji) are now settled in Phursatganj. They have a son, Pappu, and have completely left the con job. One day, Inspector Jatayu Singh (Pankaj Tripathi) arrests them for conning a group of middle aged men. They were promised a trip to a country called Virgin Island and each person in the group had paid Rs. 5 lakhs to a couple - Kunal Singh (Siddhant Chaturvedi) and Sonia Rawat (Sharvari). When these men reached the airport, they realised that had been conned. These angry men barge into the office of Kunal and Sonia only to find the logo of Bunty and Babli. Jatayu was a junior cop in the team of Dashrath Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) who was in charge of solving the Bunty and Babli case. Hence, he knew about their whereabouts and nabbed them. Rakesh and Vimmi insist that they are innocent. But Jatayu refuses to believe them. He realises his mistake when Kunal and Sonia carry out another con job while Rakesh and Vimmi are in custody. This time, they fool a mayor (Yashpal Sharma) of a town in western Uttar Pradesh under the pretext of selling the lease of the Ganga river. Jatayu makes an offer to Rakesh and Vimmi. He asks for their help in nabbing the new Bunty and Babli. Rakesh and Vimmi agree as they are hurt that someone is using their brand which they created with lot of hard work. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Aditya Chopra's story is okay and gives a strong deja vu of his previous productions like DHOOM, LADIES VS RICKY BAHL, BADMAASH COMPANY etc. Varun V Sharma's screenplay is decent in the first half. The con games played by Kunal and Sonia before the intermission are at least interesting to see. But in the second half, the film goes downhill as the humour and logic both go out of the window. It seemed like the writer ran out of ideas and didn't know what to do next. Varun V Sharma's dialogues adds to the laughs at select places but could have been much better. Varun V Sharma's direction is neat and devoid of complications. But it fails to hide the glaring loopholes and not so funny developments of the second half. The biggest grouse however is how things happen conveniently. For instance, it is bewildering how Rakesh and Vimmi are able to locate Bunty and Babli in Goa. Even in the first half, Vimmi finds out about Sonia's whereabouts in the gym. One can argue that their son, who is tech savvy, must have helped them. But how exactly he did so is never explained. And if he had the resources to track such most wanted criminals, then the police should also ideally have better ways of doing the same. And that's not all. The character of the kid is very funny but the way Rakesh and Vimmi would leave him for days without help from anyone else is very unconvincing. And there are a series of such errors in the script. BUNTY AUR BABLI 2 has a fine start. The three con jobs shown in the first half keep viewers engaged. The entry of Jatayu is heroic and funny. Post interval, one expects fireworks as Rakesh and Vimmi travel to Abu Dhabi to nab the con duo. But the plot points from here on fail to entice. The ending is intended to be wicked but is silly and also predictable. Rani Mukerji: “Maine saare stereotypes ko CHALLENGE kiya hai because nor I’m…”| Bunty Aur Babli 2 Speaking of performances, Saif Ali Khan is not in a great form. And its pretty shocking since he's known to ace in all kinds of genres. Rani Mukerji is too loud and over the top and is not in sync with her character in the first half. The only scene where she does well is when she blasts Kunal and Sonia at the breakfast area and it is memorable only because of her act. Siddhant Chaturvedi leaves a mark and proves that he's a hero material. Sharvari makes a confident debut and looks sizzling. The performances of both, however, suffers as not enough emphasis is given on their respective back stories. Pankaj Tripathi, as expected, is dependable and hilarious. Yashpal Sharma is decent while late Mohit Baghel (Golu Chaubey) leaves a mark in the scene where he apologizes to Sonia. Gopal Dutt (Nand Kishor) is lovely. Rajiv Gupta (Gupta; cop) is passable. Neeraj Sood (Chadha), Asrani (Thahrey Singh), Brijendra Kala (Mehmood) and Prem Chopra get no scope. Agrim Mittal (Pappu Trivedi) and Mahi Soni (Rinku Awasthi) are cute but the character of the former could have been better fleshed out. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is poor and that's another major problem with the film, since the soundtrack of part 1 is memorable even today. The title song is nothing special. 'Tattoo Waaliye' is played in the end credits and is forgettable. The same goes for 'Luv Ju' and 'Dhik Chik'. Julius Packiam's background score is much better. Gavemic U Ary's cinematography adds to the grandeur and visual appeal. Rajat Poddat's production design is decent. Sabyasachi Mukherjee's costumes for Rani Mukerji are tacky and doesn't contribute to the humour. It also looks a bit cheap at some places. Leepakshi Ellawadi's costumes for the rest are fine. Parvez Sheikh's action is fine. Aarif Sheikh's editing could have been slicker in the second half. On the whole, BUNTY AUR BABLI 2 is a poor show all the way. At the box office, the overall collections would be impacted due to the negative word of mouth. Disappointing!

Movie Review: Dhamaka DHAMAKA is an edge-of-the-seat thriller and boasts of fine performances

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

DHAMAKA is the story of a prime time reporter getting the biggest scoop of his career. Arjun Pathak (Kartik Aaryan) was a reputed TV reporter of Bharosa 24x7. He is married to Saumya Mehra Pathak (Mrunal Thakur). All is going well but due to an unsavoury incident, Arjun is demoted and is given the post of a radio jockey on Radio Bharosa. His marriage with Saumya is about to end as their divorce proceedings are going on. One day, during his morning show, Arjun receives a call from a man called Raghubeer Mhata (Soham Majumdar). He claims that he has planted a bomb on the Sea Link in Mumbai. Arjun assumes that it’s a prank call and abruptly cuts it. The next moment, he hears a loud blast. He looks out of the window and sees that a part of the sea link has exploded. Raghubeer calls again and wants to talk. A scared Arjun immediately phones the cops. But he cuts the call when he realizes that this is his chance to get back his position as a prime time news anchor. He requests Raghubeer to wait for some time. He immediately dials his boss, Ankita (Amruta Subhash), and informs her about the situation. He also gets an assurance from her that he can go on air with this story. A temporary studio is set up in the radio station. Arjun goes on air and begins to further talk to Raghubeer. At this point, Raghubeer informs that he wants an apology from the minister Jaydev Patil immediately; or else he’ll do more blasts. He also tells Arjun that there’s a bomb in his earpiece and that he’ll execute the blast if he moves from his seat. To add to Arjun’s fears, he learns that Saumya is the one who has gone to the Sea Link to cover the story on the ground. Another blast rocks the Sea Link and now Saumya and the rest of the people present there are in danger. What happens next forms the rest of the film. DHAMAKA is based on the Korean film TERROR LIVE [written and directed by Kim Byung Woo]. The story is unique and one of its kind. DHAMAKA is a thriller but it starts on a sweet note. Soon, the tone changes as Arjun gets the call from the mysterious caller. The first half will give you no reason to complain as the makers neatly explain the setting, the dynamics between the various characters and why Arjun has got demoted. The way Arjun uses his divorce papers to make notes is quite assuming and shows that the director has tried to make the product stand out. The scene where Jayant Patil’s deputy Subhash Mathur (Vishwajeet Pradhan) comes to the studio and speaks to Raghubeer is a terrific scene and will leave viewers astonished. Another heart-in-the-mouth scene is when Saumya attempts to save a girl from a car before it falls off the Sea Link. The second half, too, has its share of good scenes but due to the above-mentioned glitches, the impact is diluted. Puneet Sharma and Ram Madhvani's screenplay is impressive and ensures that audiences remain glued to their seats. However, some of the developments in the second half are not convincing. Even the finale is difficult to digest. Puneet Sharma and Ram Madhvani's dialogues are sharp and acidic. Ram Madhvani's direction is gripping. The storytelling is such that viewers can’t help but get lost in the world shown by the talented director. He also raises the tension levels very well, leaving audiences to wonder what will happen next. His comment on ethics and the quest of news channels to get the ratings up at any cost is sure to shock viewers. On the flipside, certain developments, later on, are difficult to digest. The sequence where Ankita gets an anchor from a rival channel to expose Arjun’s wrongdoings and even compels Arjun to speak to him on the other news channel is too much. This is especially because Ankita is shown to be worried about the ratings; such a move could have hampered the channel in the long run. The decision of Arjun in the climax feels needless as he did have a fighting spirit. Kartik Aaryan on Dhamaka: “Arjun Pathak ye character mere liye bohot hi…”| Ram Madhvani DHAMAKA scores when it comes to the performances. Kartik Aaryan is known for comic and light-hearted roles but here; he steps into altogether new territory and comes out with flying colours. He’s sure to surprise many and proves that he’s able to portray different kinds of roles with ease. Mrunal Thakur is mentioned first in the opening credits, before Kartik. Her role is also credited as a special appearance and she does very well. Amruta Subhash leaves a tremendous mark and adds a lot to the drama in the film. Soham Majumdar has a limited appearance but his voice plays an important role and overall, he does a fine job. Vishwajeet Pradhan is memorable in a cameo. Vikas Kumar (Praveen Kamath; counter-terrorism official) gives a fine, no-nonsense performance. Anuj Gurwara (Manas Sethi; INL News anchor) is okay. DHAMAKA, ideally, should have been a song-less fare but the three songs are neatly woven into the narrative. 'Khoya Paaya' boasts of powerful lyrics and vocals by Amit Trivedi. The female version by Jasleen Royal is also hard-hitting. 'Kasoor' is sweet and has the trademark Prateek Kuhad stamp. Vishal Khurana's background score is impactful. Manu Anand's cinematography is a bit shaky but that adds to the tension. Nidhi Rungta's production design is authentic. Manohar Verma's action is realistic. Theia Tekchandaney's costumes (associate costume designing by Ayushi Jain) are non-glamorous as per the film’s requirement. Futureworks Media Ltd and RedChillies.VFX's VFX could have been better. Monisha R Baldawa's editing (co-editing by Amit Karia) is slick and fast-paced but slows down a bit in later portions. On the whole, DHAMAKA is an edge-of-the-seat thriller and boasts of one of the finest performances by Kartik Aaryan. But sadly, the film loses steam in the second half.

Movie Review: Sooryavanshi SOORYAVANSHI has it all stars, scale, action and entertainment. A Blockbuster package this Diwali that is a SURE-SHOT SMASH HIT

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

The wait was worth it! Rohit Shetty had designed, conceptualised and executed SOORYAVANSHI for the big screen. He waited patiently for close to two years for cinemas to reopen, so that moviegoers could watch his newest creation on the big screen. After having watched SOORYAVANSHI, I genuinely feel that the decision to release SOORYAVANSHI in cinemas was the most appropriate decision. Big films are meant for the big screen and SOORYAVANSHI is truly a big ticket entertainer that ought to be enjoyed on the wide screen, in a cinema hall. Come to think of it, there’s a lot riding on SOORYAVANSHI. Big money, yes. But, most importantly, a film like SOORYAVANSHI is sure to boost the morale of an industry that’s already going through its toughest phase due to the pandemic. So let me come to the point right away. SOORYAVANSHI is amongst Rohit Shetty’s best works. Like Manmohan Desai, he knows the pulse of the audience and serves a dish that they relish. He integrates the right elements in those 2.30 hours and at the end of it, you can’t help but exclaim, this one’s a paisa-vasool entertainer. Now to the storyline WITHOUT spoilers… SOORYAVANSHI tells the story of a daring cop Sooryavanshi [Akshay Kumar], who decides to go after the mastermind of the terror attacks. He faces obstacles, his wife [Katrina Kaif] almost walks out on him, he loses a few colleagues in this fight, but he stays focused. On paper, the storyline of SOORYAVANSHI may sound predictable and done to death, but it’s triumph lies in its screenwriting. The screenplay is truly gripping for most parts, although it slackens in the first half due to an unwanted song and some romantic scenes filmed on Akshay and Katrina. Rohit amalgamates drama and emotions beautifully and peppers it with remarkable action pieces. Would like to mention a few sequences here… ⭐️ Akshay’s introduction ⭐️ The chase and fight in Jaisalmer, when Akshay nabs Abhimanyu Singh ⭐️ Akshay confronting Gulshan Grover, who then is confronted by Rajendra Gupta ⭐️ The bike, speedboat and helicopter chase in Bangkok ⭐️ Gulshan Grover’s arrest and the immediate sequence when Akshay confronts his supporters ⭐️ The entry of Simmba [Ranveer Singh] and Singham [Ajay Devgn] ⭐️ The song ‘Chodo Kal Ki Baatein’ towards the penultimate portions While the screenplay is padded with the right ingredients, Rohit makes sure he never deviates from the core issue. The film has scale and content, both and that is its biggest strength. Dialogue too are well worded and fit seamlessly in the narrative. The DoP captures the scale of the film without any hiccup. The background score is effectual and the signature tune when Simmba and Singham appear on screen makes you nostalgic. Sooryavanshi First Day First Show Public Review | Akshay Kumar | Katrina Kaif Akshay returns to the action genre with SOORYAVANSHI. He indulges in fisticuffs, spews fire and venom, pumps bullets, vanquishes the villain and romances Katrina. Must add, he delivers a terrific performance yet again. Also, his deadpan humour contributes to the fun element. Katrina has a decent role and she goes through it with ease. But it is the song ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ that’s bound to be greeted with whistles and claps at single screens mainly. The film has a plethora of characters, but the ones who stand out include Kumud Mishra [very good], Abhimanyu Singh [excellent], Gulshan Grover [first-rate], Rajendra Gupta [competent], Niktin Dheer [good], Sikandar Kher [effective] and Sharvari Lohokare [super]. Jaaved Jaaferi is, as always, dependable. Jackie Shroff has an important role, but doesn’t get too many scenes to prove his mettle. The presence of Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh is sone pe suhaaga, truly a master stroke. Their sequences only enhance the post-interval portions to a major extent. On the whole, SOORYAVANSHI has it all: stars, scale, action and entertainment. Rohit Shetty presents a Blockbuster package this Diwali that's sure to bring the audience back to cinemas in large numbers. SURE-SHOT SMASH HIT.

Movie Review: Red Notice (English) RED NOTICE is a paisa vasool entertainer that rests on the writing, direction and the star power and able performances of Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

RED NOTICE is the story of an officer trying to catch an art thief. Special Agent John Heartley (Dwayne Johnson) of the FBI reaches Rome along with his Interpol colleague Inspector Urvashi Das (Ritu Arya). They straight away head to a renowned museum in the Italian city and inform the management that a priceless artefact, Cleopatra’s Egg, is about to be stolen. The manager rubbishes off the claims. This is when John Heartley realizes that he’s late and that the artefact has already been stolen by the world-renowned art thief, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds). John manages to track him down in Bali. He arrests him and also retrieves the Egg from Nolan. Unknown to John, The Bishop (Gal Gadot) infiltrates into the Interpol commando team that had arrived to arrest Nolan. She smartly replaces Cleopatra’s Egg with a fake and escapes with the real artefact. She also manages to wire millions of dollars into John’s account. Hence, Inspector Das is convinced that John is behind the robbery. She gets him arrested and he’s sent to a prison in Russia where his cell mate is none other than Nolan. Both want to desperately escape the prison. While John wants to prove his innocence, Nolan wants to steal the second Cleopatra’s Egg which is kept in the residence of an arms dealer Sotto Voce (Chris Diamantopoulos) in Valencia. Sotto has used extensive security features and hence, stealing the Egg from there is next to impossible. John and Nolan escape from the jail, team up and manage to infiltrate into the room where the Egg is stored. But as luck would have it, Bishop arrives there, determined to steal the Egg and also steal the thunder from the duo once again. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Rawson Marshall Thurber's story has all the trappings of a commercial entertainer. It’ll also give a déjà vu of DHOOM 2 [2006] to the Indian audiences. Rawson Marshall Thurber's screenplay is entertaining and doesn’t have a single dull moment. There’s laughter or action in most scenes. A couple of scenes are emotional but even these have been treated in a light-hearted manner. However, this is a mindless caper and hence, the logic goes out of the window. Also, each act follows a template and hence by the time the film reaches the pre-climax, it becomes predictable to an extent. Rawson Marshall Thurber's dialogues are hilarious and one of the strengths of the film. The ones mouthed by Ryan Reynolds especially bring the house down. Rawson Marshall Thurber's direction is supreme. He doesn’t waste time and incorporates a lot in just 115 minutes of run time. How the narrative jumps from Rome to Bali to Russia to Valencia, etc is seen to be believed. But what works the best is the unusual chemistry shared by the three actors. The trio is at loggerheads and yet share some sort of chemistry and this is a very unique aspect of this film. On the flipside, several sequences are very convenient and viewers would have to understand that there’s no logic to what’s unfolding on the screen. Also, the way the film reaches the finale, one expects fireworks. However, the ending is abrupt with the promise of a sequel. This might be disappointing for a section of viewers. RED NOTICE’s intro scene and opening credits are stylishly done and set the mood. The madness at the Rome sequence is funny and thrilling. The Bali sequence is surprising as one doesn’t expect John to catch Nolan so soon. The prison sequence is hilarious and the manner in which John and Nolan escape is nail-biting. The best part of the first half and even the film is reserved in the Valencia episode when John and Nolan fight off the Bishop. Post-interval, the bullfight sequence raises laughs. The pre-climax and climax are entertaining but also slightly predictable although the twist in the tale does catch you unawares. The finale is sudden and one doesn’t expect the film to get over so soon. Speaking of performances, all the three main actors have brought in the star power and have done really well. Dwayne Johnson is apt for such a part. His comic timing and his action add to the fun and he also doesn’t attempt to overpower the other two actors. Ryan Reynolds is too good and gets the best lines in the film. His character is a bit child-like and yet again, he attempts to ensure that his act stands out, like the way he did in the recently released film FREE GUY. He also gets to do his share of action although his comic quotient is more memorable. Gal Gadot is stunning and gives yet another memorable performance. She has less screen time than the two male actors but compensates for it with her acting prowess, action and the oomph factor that she brings to the film. Ritu Arya puts on a confident act. Chris Diamantopoulos is decent. Steve Jablonsky's music is cinematic and has an adventurous feel. Markus Förderer's cinematography is breathtaking and the way he has taken the long shots in a novel style enhances the impact. Andy Nicholson's production design is first-rate. Mary E Vogt's costumes are very rich and treat to the eyes, especially the ones worn by Gal Gadot. VFX matches global standards. The action is not at all disturbing and goes with the family-friendly genre of the film. It is also smartly and entertainingly choreographed. Julian Clarke and Michael L. Sale's editing is quite slick. On the whole, RED NOTICE is a paisa vasool entertainer that rests on the writing, direction and the star power and able performances of Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. Had it been released in cinemas, it would have been a huge grosser.

Movie Review: Eternals (English) ETERNALS is a well-made superhero saga that gives a nice boost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

ETERNALS is the story of an immortal alien race on the Earth for a purpose. 7000 years ago, the Celestial Arishem created the Eternals, the immortal human beings like creatures, and sent them to Earth. These Eternals include Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Ajak (Salma Hayek) and Thena (Angelina Jolie). Their purpose is to save the planet from monstrous creatures called the Deviants. The Eternals arrive on the Earth in the year 5000 BC in Mesopotamia and manage to defeat the Deviants. They then live through the progress of human civilization and even give a push to mankind in various ways using their superpowers. Among the Eternals, only Ajak is the one who has the ability to establish contact with Arishem. In the present-day (post the Blip episode caused by Thanos), Sersi is in London and is a professor. She is romantically involved with Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) after Ikaris left her. Sprite is also residing with Sersi. One day, while returning from a party, Sersi and Sprite are attacked by a Deviant. They fight it out and are about to get defeated when Ikaris comes to rescue them. The trio realizes that the Deviants have become much more powerful than before. They decide to contact Ajak in South Dakota, USA hoping that she’d have an idea. Shockingly, when they reach her place, they find her dead. Sersi also realizes that she’s now got the ability to communicate with Arishem. Arishem tells her that ‘it’s almost time’. Realizing that the Eternals are in danger, the trio set to reunite all their rest of their colleagues, who are scattered around the world and try to find out why the Deviants are out to kill them. Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo's story is interesting and is in the zone as the AVENGERS series, at least on paper. Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo's screenplay is captivating and effective. The writers have tried their best to ensure that it seems like a Marvel film and yet doesn’t give a déjà vu of the previous superhero films of this franchise. The characters of the various Eternal heroes are well fleshed out and the chemistry they share is one of the best parts of the enterprise. On the flipside, the film is a bit confusing and also the pace is slow. At places, the writing also tends to drag. The dialogues are conversational and a bit mysterious at places. The trademark Marvel humour is also present in some one-liners. Chloé Zhao's direction is impressive and cinematic. She had a huge responsibility on her shoulders as she had to ensure that it should not seem like the poor man’s AVENGERS. After seeing more than 20 Marvel films, it was also crucial for her to ensure that it stands out. In this regard, she comes out with flying colours. The film is shot in several locales around the world and each location is presented beautifully. The bonding between the characters and the challenges they face also add to the fun. She has also managed to incorporate massy and clapworthy elements in action scenes. On the flipside, the narrative at places is too slow and it can test the patience of the viewers. Her treatment is a bit more creative and fit for critical acclaim and hence, those used to watching typical Marvel films might feel shortchanged. In other words, ETERNALS is not as outstanding as the AVENGERS films. The conflict between the Eternals and Deviants becomes complicated to understand towards the end. The same goes for the dilemma of Sprite and also the condition faced by Thena. ETERNALS starts on a rocking note. The entry scene of each main character is sure to be greeted with whistles and claps. The London episode is entertaining. The death of Ajak comes as a jolt. The scene where Sersi, Ikaris and Sprite reach India to meet Kingo is sure to bring the house down, especially among the audiences in our country. In fact, this desi connection will surely be of help in impressing the Indian audiences. The Australia episode has its share of fun and drama. The Amazon track is nail-biting and from here on, the film gets a bit serious. The twist in the tale in the pre-climax is unpredictable. The final fight has its share of thrill and adrenaline rush but could have been more powerful. The scene after the climax fight also drags the film. The mid-credit scene is interesting while the post-credit scene will leave viewers bewildered. Speaking of performances, Gemma Chan has the maximum screen time out of all the Eternals and rocks the show. Salma Hayek has limited presence but makes up for it with a strong performance. The same goes for Angelina Jolie but as mentioned above, viewers won’t be able to relate to her condition. Richard Madden is dependable while Kumail Nanjiani gives a funny yet sensitive performance. One wishes he had more to contribute in the last part of the film. Lia McHugh is fine while Brian Tyree Henry puts up a memorable act. Lauren Ridloff is excellent as the mute superhero. Barry Keoghan is passable while Don Lee is very impressive. Kit Harington looks dashing and lends able support. Harish Patel (Karun Patel) is a scene-stealer. The actor of Indian origin has considerable screen time and makes good use of it. Haaz Sleiman (Phastos' husband) is fine. David Kaye’s baritone voice suits that of Arishem. Harry Styles is nice in the cameo. Ramin Djawadi's music compliments the goings-on very well. The ‘Game Of Thrones’ composer also enhances impact with his score. Ben Davis's cinematography is breathtaking and he does justice to the various exotic locales shown in the film. Eve Stewart and Clint Wallace's production design is rich and suits the theme of the film. Sammy Sheldon's costumes are royal, especially the superhero wear of the Eternals. VFX, as expected, is top-class and looks great on the IMAX screen. The action is spectacular. Dylan Tichenor and Craig Wood's editing could have been tighter. On the whole, ETERNALS is a well-made superhero saga that gives a nice boost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It releases on post-Diwali day and is sure to have a huge opening, despite the intense competition from SOORYAVANSHI. The last Marvel release, SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, managed to score well despite no release in Maharastra and occupancy restrictions. ETERNALS, meanwhile, will have a release across the country, On the whole, ETERNALS is a well-made superhero saga that gives a nice boost to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It releases post-Diwali day in India and despite the intense competition from SOORYAVANSHI, it has managed to record strong advance sales due to the hype, enviable casting, big screen appeal and Marvel connection. Hence, it’s sure to have a fabulous opening and can put healthy lifetime collections in all languages.

Movie Review: Hum Do Hamare Do HUM DO HAMARE DO rests on a great plot and fine performances but the average script and weak climax diminishes the impact.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

HUM DO HAMARE DO is the story of a man who gets fake parents to impress the girl he loves. Dhruv Shikhar (Rajkummar Rao) is an orphan who used to work in the dhaba run by Purshottam Mishra (Paresh Rawal) as a child. One day, he runs away and studies hard. He then emerges as a successful entrepreneur and the creator of a VR app called Jaadugar. At the launch event of his app, he meets Anya Mehra (Kriti Sanon), a vlogger. He falls for her and she too starts liking him. However, she wants to marry a person who has a sweet family. She also has a reason for doing so. Her parents died when she was a kid. Her chacha Dr. Sanjeev Mehra (Manu Rishi Chadha) and wife Rupa Mehra (Prachee Shah Pandya) raised her like her own child. Dhruv fears that if he tells her the truth that he has no one in this world, she might leave him. So he lies that he stays with his parents. Anya agrees to marry him. Then he along with his best friend Shunty (Aparshakti Khurana) decides to find a man and woman who can pretend to be his parents. Shunty takes him to Shadiraam (Sanand Verma). He is an expert wedding planner and can also help in getting fake guests. He lines up hundreds of men and women for Dhruv’s requirements. Sadly, none of them fit the bill. At this point, Dhruv is reminded of Purshottam who has now retired and has settled in Shimla. He also realizes that he’s in love with Deepti Kashyap (Ratna Pathak Shah), who also resides in Shimla. Purshottam is aware that she’s living in the same city but is scared to approach her. When Dhruv learns that Deepti is Purshottam’s old flame, he convinces her to be her mother. She agrees and once she’s on board, Purshottam also follows suit and agrees to be his father. Anya’s family and Dhruv’s ‘family’ then meet at a restaurant. All is going well until Purshottam has too many drinks. He gets so emotional that he asks for Deepti’s hand in marriage. An aghast Deepti leaves. Someone in the restaurant shoots the video of the proposal and it goes viral. This embarrasses Dr. Mehra and he now has second thoughts on whether he should allow Anya to marry into such a family. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Deepak Venkateshan and Abhishek Jain's story is highly entertaining and has the potential to be a funny and emotional saga. Prashant Jha's screenplay fails to do justice to such a great plot. Some funny and emotional scenes do stand out but overall, a few developments are difficult to digest. Prashant Jha's dialogues are great at places but overall, could have been better. Some similar scenes in this space in recent times like BADHAAI HO [2018], BALA [2019], MIMI [2021] etc have set a benchmark and this film fails to go past these in terms of one-liners. Abhishek Jain's direction is decent although he had far better control of the writing in his previous regional films. He handles the romantic track well and also the portion in the second half when Dhruv bonds with his pretend parents. Also, the interval point does raise laughs. But the film is disjointed, for which even the editing is to blame. There was a potential of adding far more humour but Abhishek misses the opportunity. Dhruv’s outburst in the climax is unconvincing. The climax is hurried and one is left bewildered as to how an adamant Dr. Sanjeev Mehra had a change of heart. HUM DO HAMARE DO begins on a very sweet note. Dhruv and Anya’s first meeting is a bit awkward but works. The scenes of Dhruv and Anya’s romance are decent and set the base for the film. After a point, one does get restless as one has already seen the trailers and how the story is going to pan out next. It’s only when Purshottam and Deepti agree to be Dhruv’s parents that the film gets interesting once again. The scene where both the families meet is funny. Post-interval, the scenes of Anya staying with Dhruv’s ‘family’ make for a nice watch. The scene where Deepti speaks to Dhruv about her strained relations with her son is very touching. One expects the film to get even better from here on. However, the pre-climax and climax both fail to make the desired impact. Rajkummar Rao does well but gets overshadowed by the towering presence of Paresh Rawal and Ratna Pathak Shah. Kriti Sanon is apt for the part and delivers a fine performance. Her screen time, however, is limited in the first half. Also, the love story suffers overall since there’s a lot more things happening in the film. Paresh Rawal is quite entertaining and enhances impact. Ratna Pathak Shah is graceful and one of the factors why this film works to some extent. Mazel Vyas (Kanika's Anya's sister) leaves a mark and is good in the scene where she questions Manu Rishi Chadha in the pre-climax. Aparshakti Khurana is okay and his character gets a raw deal. Manu Rishi Chadha is dependable while Prachee Shah Paandya is lovely. Sanand Verma is a bit over-the-top but it works. Sarthak Sharma (little Dhruv) is sweet while Khabir Mehta (Chintu) essays the part of the mischievous kid well. Avijit Dutt (Dhruv's boss) is wasted and the same goes for Shibani Bedi (Shunty's wife). Aditya Taranch (Sanket) is fine. Sachin-Jigar's music doesn’t have the potential to have a long shelf life. 'Bansuri', played in the end credits and has the chartbuster feel. 'Kamli' and 'Vedha Sajjeya' work well in the film. 'Raula Pae Gayaa' is played for hardly a minute. 'Dum Gutkoon' makes for a good sad song. Sachin-Jigar's background score is much better. Amalendu Chaudhary's cinematography is appropriate. Dayanidhi Patturajan and Amrish Patange's production design is neat. Rajkummar’s renovated house especially is appealing yet realistic. Anisha Jain, Sukriti Grover and Jia-Mallika's costumes are rich. Dev Rao Jadhav's editing is disjointed. On the whole, HUM DO HAMARE DO rests on a great plot and fine performances from the lead actors, particularly Paresh Rawal and Ratna Pathak Shah. But the average script and weak climax diminishes the impact to an extent.

Movie Review: No Time To Die (English) On the whole, NO TIME TO DIE is a fun-filled entertainer that will give you your money's worth.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

NO TIME TO DIE is the story is the story of the legendary secret agent who returns to service after his past catches up with him. The film starts off with Madeleine Swann's (Léa Seydoux) flashback. As a child, she had witnessed the murder of her mother at the hands of Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) at her home. Lyutsifer tries to kill him. But she attacks him and later Lyutsifer even rescues him when she falls in a frozen lake. In the present day, Madeleine is with James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Matera, Italy. All is going well until Spectre assassins attack Bond. He and Madeleine survive the attack and they even overpower the assassins. However, Bond believes thay Madeleine has betrayed him. She pleads and assures she hasn't betrayed him. Yet, he leaves her. Five years later, MI6 scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) is kidnapped from an MI6 laboratory. Their bioweapon project also gets leaked. Bond, meanwhile, is now retired and residing in Jamaica. CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and his colleague Logan Ash (Billy Magnussen) contact Bond and ask his help in finding Obruchev. Bond initially declines. But when he bumps into Nomi (Lashana Lynch), his successor as 007 at MI6 and when Nomi warns him not to get involved in this case, Bond accepts CIA's offer. Bond then goes to Cuba and with the help of a young agent Paloma (Ana de Armas), they infiltrate into a Spectre meeting. Soon, Bond realises that Spectre members are aware of his presence and are about to use the bioweapon to kill him. But in a sudden twist, the 'nanobot mist' kills all the Spectre members instead. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga's story is excellent and has all the ingredients of a mass entertainer. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge's screenplay is entertaining. The writers have peppered the narrative with some highly interesting action and dramatic scenes. The villain track, however, is weak. Dialogues are straightforward and sharp. Cary Joji Fukunaga's direction is splendid. There's a lot happening in the film throughout. Hence, despite the long length (160 minutes), one doesn't mind as the interest levels are high for most of the film. The 20 minute long introductory sequence is very well executed, especially Madeleine's flashback. However, the track of the antagonist is not as menacing as intended. The Bond series and many such big action entertainers have had far more evil villains. The climax at the island is impressive but this is where the film drags a bit. NO TIME TO DIE has a shocking and powerful introduction. The Matera action and chase sequence is thrilling and also the best part of the film. After the creative opening title sequence, the film continues to entertain. The Cuba sequence is unpredictable and also action packed. Post interval, the interrogation of Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) is intriguing. But the best part of the second half is the action scene set in the foggy jungle. The climax is a bit dragging but the emotional finale makes up for it. Daniel Craig, as expected, is splendid, in all respects. It’s really moving to know that this is the last time he's playing this iconic character and hence, this performance is even more special. Léa Seydoux is absent in the middle of the film but compensates for it with her fine performance in the beginning and in the second half. Rami Malek is strictly okay. Lashana Lynch is great and the constant tension between her character and that of Bond adds to the madness. Ana de Armas is there for just 15 minutes but rocks the show. She looks like a million bucks in her high slit backless dress. Jeffrey Wright is lovely in a small role. Christoph Waltz gets limited scope this time. Ralph Fiennes (Gareth Mallory) and Ben Whishaw (Q) are dependable. David Dencik and Billy Magnussen are decent. Child actor Lisa-Dorah Sonnet (Mathilde) is cute. Hans Zimmer's music is grand and exhilarating. Linus Sandgren's cinematography is appropriate and captures the various locales of varied landscape beautifully. Mark Tildesley's production design is rich. Suttirat Anne Larlab's costumes are appealing, especially the one worn by Daniel Craig and the ladies. Elliot Graham's editing is neat but could have been sharper towards the end. On the whole, NO TIME TO DIE is a fun-filled entertainer that will give you your money's worth. It released in India on September 30 and has released in Maharashtra today. Despite the delayed release, it'll find an audience as its not available on piracy, the word of mouth is very positive and also because it is the last Bond film for Daniel Craig.

Movie Review: Dune (English) DUNE is a cinematic spectacle and embellished with some fine performances. However due to the lack of buzz, long length, confusing narrative and lack of humour it’ll appeal only to niche audiences.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

DUNE is the story of the son of a noble family who could be The One. The year is 10191. It’s a time when a group of planets are part of the Empire and all of them have set sights on the planet of Arrakis. Arrakis is an arid, hot and inhospitable place and the only group of people who reside there are the Fremen. They are dangerous and expert fighters. Yet, all the planets are interested in Arrakis as that’s where the ‘spice’ grows. It’s a priceless substance that extends human youth, vitality and lifespan and hence, it has a lot of demand in the Empire. For around 80 years, the House Harkonnen of the Giedi Prime planet has been in charge of harvesting spice in Arrakis. But by an order of the Emperor, the fiefdom of Arrakis is transferred to the rule of the planet Caladan - Duke Leto Atreides of House Atreides (Oscar Isaac). Leto and his partner Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are parents to Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and the trio are all set to go to Arrakis to take over the charge. Paul gets mysterious dreams wherein he sees the landscape of Arrakis. He also sees a girl (Zendaya) and is unable to decode what the dream conveys. It then comes to light that Jessica is a member of Bene Gesserit, an exclusively female group that pursues mysterious political aims and wields seemingly superhuman physical and mental abilities. Jessica invites Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling) of Bene Gesserit to find out about the dreams troubling Paul. Her revelations have a deep impact on Paul just before on his journey to Arrakis. Leto, Jessica and Paul arrive on Arrakis and while all seems well in control, they are not aware that behind their backs, a sinister plan is in motion. DUNE is based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. The story is complex and not all aspects are easy to comprehend. But overall, it’s a fascinating tale and worth adapting on celluloid. Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth's screenplay is captivating. The writers try their best to explain to the viewers the setting of the film and also the dynamics shared by various characters. More than the action and scale, DUNE is a human drama and the three writers deserve kudos for handling this bit well. However, the writing stagnates in the second half and a few aspects of the film are never properly explained. Dialogues are deep and a few of them might go over the viewers’ heads. Denis Villeneuve's direction is praiseworthy. It requires a lot of courage to make a film of this kind and full marks to Denis for passing out with flying colours on this front. The film is a visual spectacle and it’s one of its big USPs. Denis handles this bit with perfection. A few scenes are exceptionally executed. On the flipside, at 155 minutes, the film is too long. The first half moves in a jiffy but one can feel in the second half that the film is going on and on. Also, it is devoid of humour or light-hearted moments. This coupled with the complicated narrative makes DUNE ideal only for a niche audience. DUNE’S introduction sequence is a bit confusing. It’s only later when Paul has a conversation with his father that things become much clearer. The sequence of Paul’s training with Gurney (Josh Brolin) and Paul’s intense interaction with Reverend Mother are memorable. The tension levels finally go up in the scene where the Atreides group tries to rescue members of a trawler from the sandworm. In the second half, the film goes on another level as the Duke is attacked suddenly at night. Paul’s escape is dramatic. But the scenes of him running and finding the Fremen gets a bit longer. The climax fight is underwhelming. The film ends with the promise of a sequel. Speaking of performances, Timothée Chalamet handles the lead part with panache. He looks dashing and gives an able and subtle performance. Oscar Isaac is endearing. Rebecca Ferguson is excellent and has significant screen time. Zendaya has an arresting presence but sadly she’s there for less than 10 minutes. She has a fan following and they’ll surely feel shortchanged to know that she is hardly there. Charlotte Rampling leaves a mark in a cameo. Josh Brolin is fine Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho) is entertaining as always. Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen) is menacing and his entry scene is quite good. Dave Bautista (Rabban) doesn’t get much scope. Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dr Liet-Kynes) is remarkable. Javier Bardem (Stilgar) is decent. Stephen McKinley Henderson (Thufir Hawat), Chang Chen (Dr Yueh), Babs Olusanmokun (Jamis) and Benjamin Clementine (Herald Of The Change) are fine. Hans Zimmer's music, as expected, enhances the impact. In a few scenes however, the music is too loud and too ‘cinematic’ and it doesn’t match with the visuals playing on the screen. Greig Fraser's cinematography is award-worthy. The desert landscape, especially, is captured beautifully. Patrice Vermette's production design is rich and one can actually feel that the film is based in a different world. Bob Morgan and Jacqueline West's costumes are unique and appealing. Action is great and thankfully, not gory. VFX is top-class. Some of the effects are never before seen. Joe Walker's editing could have been crisper. On the whole, DUNE is a cinematic spectacle and embellished with some fine performances. However due to the lack of buzz, long length, confusing narrative and lack of humour and light-hearted moments; it’ll appeal only to a niche section of audiences.

Movie Review: Sanak - Hope Under Siege Vidyut Jammwal starrer SANAK rests on Vidyut Jammwal’s presence and the novel and exciting action scenes.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

SANAK is the story of a man battling an army of guys in a hospital. Vivaan Ahuja (Vidyut Jammwal) is happily married to Anshika (Rukmini Maitra). On their 3rd marriage anniversary, they find out that Anshika is suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that can prove fatal if she doesn’t go for an immediate surgery. The cost of the treatment is Rs. 70 lakhs and Vivaan sells his flat as he is running short of money. Her treatment begins at Green Hills Multi Speciality Hospital, Mumbai. The surgery is successful and a few days later, Anshika is allowed to go home. However, hours before her discharge, a high-profile patient, Ajay Pal Singh (Kiran Karmarkar), is brought into the hospital. He is an arms dealer who is imprisoned in Arthur Road Jail and had to be rushed to the hospital after his pacemaker malfunctions. His operation begins immediately on the East Wing of the 9th floor, the same level where Anshika is kept. Vivaan goes to the billing counter on the ground floor to settle the bill. As he reaches the ground floor, he realizes that he has forgotten his wallet in the car which is parked in the basement. Meanwhile, Captain Saju (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and his team, comprising Raman (Sunil Palwal), Yuri (Daniele Balconi), Taira (Ivy Haralson), Maksym (Alois Knapps) and Chad (Du Tran Au) arrive at the hospital basement. Yuri is asked to stay put at the parking lot and to safeguard a black bag. The rest of them leave and attack the hospital. The hostages are kept on the ground floor and 9th floor. Anshika is one of the hostages. They capture the CCTV room so that they can access the happenings in the hospital and install jammers. They also boobytrap all entrances to the hospital with bombs. Hence, the police are unable to enter. While all this is happening, Vivaan is at the parking lot, completely oblivious to the fact that the hospital is under attack. He bumps into Yuri but leaves. Yuri realizes that he can alert others about his presence. Hence, he tries to kill Vivaan. But Yuri is unaware that Vivaan is an ex MMA fighter. Vivaan attacks and kills Yuri. It becomes clear to him that Yuri’s team members have taken over the hospital. He opens the black bag and finds arms and a mysterious device. He takes the bag and decides to fight the baddies. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Ashish P Verma's story is interesting and makes for a great action entertainer. Ashish P Verma's screenplay is captivating but not consistent. The first half is well fleshed out and few sequences are penned very nicely. Also, the hero vs villain confrontations over the walkie talkie keeps viewers engrossed. However, the second half is needlessly dragging. A few questions are also left unanswered. Ashish P Verma's dialogues are dramatic but the ones in the romantic scenes are childish. Kanishk Verma's direction is neat. He keeps the narrative simple and massy. In fact, the slo-mo walk of Vidyut after he kills one baddie after another shows that these scenes were written keeping the single screen audiences in mind. The action scenes are also novel this time and hence, those feeling that Vidyut Jammwal’s stunts are getting repetitive will be in for a surprise. On the flipside, the 116-minute long film should have ideally been only 90 minutes long. The second half goes on and on and it hampers the impact created by the first half. One thrilling moment in the store room sequence is copied from SPIDER-MAN [2002] and this should have avoided. A few plot points leave viewers bewildered. For instance, who malfunctioned Ajay Pal Singh’s pacemaker purposely is never explained. The character of Zubin (Harminder Singh Alag), a kid, is shown to be an expert in guns and arms, to the extent that he even knows how to diffuse a bomb. The last bit is a bit too much. Another major problem with the film is that it has arrived without any buzz or awareness. Many are not even aware that a film called SANAK is releasing today. Hence, its viewership might get affected. SANAK’s first 10-15 minutes focus on the romantic track between Vivaan and Anshika. The film sets the mood once Captain Saju enters the hospital and begins his attack. To give credit where it's due, the action scenes are well choreographed and don’t give a déjà vu of the scenes of any past film of Vidyut Jammwal. The scenes which work big time are the action scenes in the parking lot, MRI room, Physiotherapy room and store room. A scene to watch out for is when Vivaan’s sugar levels drop dangerously and how he manages to sip milk. Sadly, from here on, the film drops as it drags and picks up only during the final fight. Vidyut Jammwal, as always, is in complete form. What adds to the fun is the novel stunts he attempts this time. Rukmini Maitra makes a confident debut in Bollywood. She has sufficient screen time despite the focus being on Vidyut. Chandan Roy Sanyal is excellent as the antagonist. He goes a bit over the top but it works for the character. Neha Dhupia (ACP Jayati Bhargav) effortlessly slips into the role. Chandan Roy (Riyaz Ahmed) is too good as the sidekick. His entry scene raises a lot of laughs. Kiran Karmarkar gets limited scope. Harminder Singh Alag is lovely though his character defies logic. From the baddies in Team Saju, Daniele Balconi and Sunil Palwal are memorable. Ivy Haralson, Alois Knapps and Du Tran Au are okay. Arjun Ramesh (Aditya; the kid patient), Adrija Sinha (Aanya; Jayati's daughter) and Neha Pednekar (Anuradha; the nurse on the 9th floor) are decent. SANAK, ideally, should have been a songless film. 'Suna Hai' is poor while 'O Yaara' is played in the end credits. 'Aankhein Mili' is missing in the film. Saurabh Bhalerao's background score has a cinematic feel. Pratik Deora's cinematography is excellent. Despite 95% of the film shot inside, the lensman has managed to up the scale and thrill with his camerawork. Andy Long Nguyen's action, as expected, is one of the USPs of the film. It’s commendable how the action theme managed to think out of the box this time. Saini S Johray's production design is a bit subdued, considering the hospital set up, but still fits well in this kind of film. Devraj Das and Arrtee Zutshi's costumes are rich. Pixel Digital Studios' VFX is appropriate. Sanjay Sharma's editing could have been slicker in the second half. On the whole, SANAK rests on Vidyut Jammwal’s presence and the novel and exciting action scenes. However, the needlessly long second half and the shocking lack of buzz might affect the film’s viewership.

Movie Review: Rashmi Rocket RASHMI ROCKET tackles an important issue and is laced with a powerful performance by Taapsee Pannu.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

RASHMI ROCKET is the story of a girl who's accused of being a man. The year is 2014. Rashmi Vira (Taapsee Pannu) is from Bhuj, Gujarat and is a tour guide. She's a great runner but quit running after she lost her father, Ramnik (Manoj Joshi), in the 2001 earthquake. At that time, she was participating in a running tournament when the earthquake struck. She was so lost in the running that she didn't even realize the pandemonium around her. Her mother, Bhanuben (Supriya Pathak) then brought her up and also began to fight for the rights of the women in her village. Since she resides in an army area, she is good friends with an army doctor, Dr. Ejaz Qureshi (Akash Khurana). He introduces her to Captain Gagan Thakur (Priyanshu Painyuli). While touring with Gagan and his colleagues, she runs like a rocket and saves the life of a soldier who was about to step on a landmine. Gagan encourages her to get into running. This time, she agrees. She manages to win at the state level tournament. The Indian Athletics Association notices her and she’s asked to join them so that she can practice and hopefully, represent India at the Asia Games 2014. The initial days are difficult for Rashmi as even though she is a gifted runner, she is poor when it comes to certain basic rules and techniques of the sport. Under the head coach Tejas Mukherjee (Mantra), she manages to get better at the game. Some of the fellow runners despise her, especially Niharika (Miloni Jhonsa) and Priyanka (Namita Dubey). They call her a ‘man’ as they believe that she has masculine qualities. Rashmi ignores these barbs and focuses on her game. At the Asia Games, Rashmi manages to win three gold medals. The same day, when she returns, a female official (Lisha Bajaj) from the Association asks her to come along for some procedure. Rashmi is taken to a government hospital and is compelled to undergo multiple blood tests. Then for the ultrasound test, she’s asked to strip. All these procedures take nearly six hours and Rashmi is not allowed to have food. She returns to her hostel, feeling humiliated. She bumps into Niharika who once again taunts her and calls her a ‘launda’. An angry Rashmi punches her face. Sometime later, the police arrive at the hostel. Inspector Sathe (Umesh Prakash Jagtap) claims that he got a complaint that a man is hiding in the female hostel. They conclude that the man in the hostel is none other than Rashmi. She is arrested. Gagan barges into the police station and releases her. As soon as they both come out of the police station, they find that the media has already arrived. The reports of the tests also get leaked and it proves that Rashmi has an unusually high level of testosterone. Hence, the Association bans her. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Nanda Periyasamy's story is novel and seems to be inspired by the life of Dutee Chand. Aniruddha Guha's screenplay (additional screenplay by Kanika Dhillon) is well-penned and is simplistic. The subject tackled in the film is new and a bit difficult to apprehend for the audiences. But the writers have tried their best to ensure that the proceedings are easily comprehensible. However, the second half oscillates between the court and non-court scenes. The latter, however, is not as engaging. Kanika Dhillon's dialogues (additional dialogues by Akarsh Khurana, Anirrudha Guha and Lisha Bajaj) are one of the best things of the enterprise. Several one-liners enhance the impact. Akarsh Khurana's direction is neat. One of his biggest victories is that he handles the crux of the film in a sensitive matter. There’s no titillation either visually or verbally. And the various tracks are deftly handled, be it Rashmi’s bond with Gagan or Rashmi’s training agony or the courtroom drama. On the flip side, however, while the track of Rashmi and Bhanuben is touching in the first half, in the second half, it is weak. Why did Rashmi and her mother stop communicating is not explained properly. While the court scenes take the film to a high, the intermediate sequences don’t create the desired impact, although a lot is happening here as well. An important plot point, revealed in the climax, is predictable although it’s treated like a suspense track. RASHMI ROCKET starts on a dramatic note. The childhood portions are sweet. The scene where Gagan befriends Rashmi and he realizes that she’s an expert runner is well executed. The training track of Rashmi is dramatic and keeps viewers engaged. However, the scene that rocks the most in the first half is how Rashmi is humiliated while undergoing the tests. Gagan’s outburst at the police station is applause-worthy. In the second half, Eeshit’s (Abhishek Banerjee) entry adds some light moments. All the courtroom scenes are engrossing but the ones in between are not that effective. The finale is great. Taapsee Pannu: “When I was NOT acknowledged for Pink, tabse my way of taking REVENGE is…” Taapsee Pannu is fabulous as expected. After delivering some award-worthy performances, one expects nothing but the best from her. And she doesn’t disappoint. Also, she keeps the Gujarati accent and the masculine bit restrained and that works. Priyanshu Painyuli has a fine dialogue delivery and suits the part. Abhishek Banerjee plays to the gallery and is quite entertaining. He infuses life into the second half of the film. Supriya Pathak is lovely but her track could have been more convincing in the second half. Manoj Joshi and Akash Khurana are adorable in the guest appearances. Supriya Pilgaonkar (Judge Savita Deshpande) steals the show. Mantra lends able support. The same goes for Varun Badola (Dilip Chopra). Miloni Jhonsa and Namita Dubey are okay in the antagonist-type roles. Umesh Prakash Jagtap leaves a mark with just a couple of scenes. Zafar Karachiwala (Mangesh Desai) puts up a praiseworthy act. Aseem Jayadev Hattangady (Praveen Sood) and Kshiti Jog (Dr Mhatre) are decent in a small role. Lisha Bajaj has an arresting presence. Shweta Tripathi Sharma (Maya Bhasin) is terrific in a cameo. Amit Trivedi's music is nothing special. 'Ghani Cool Chori' fulfils the need for a chartbuster song in the album to some extent. 'Zidd' lacks the punch of the adrenaline-pumping tracks in other sports films. 'Rann Ma Kutchh' is a nice ode to the Kutchh setting of the film. 'Zindagi Tere Naam' is forgettable. Amit Trivedi's background score is far better. Neha Parti Matiyani's cinematography is appropriate for a film of this kind. Durgaprasad Mahapatra's production design is realistic. Rohit Chaturvedi's costumes are stylish, especially the ones worn by Taapsee. Late Ajay Sharma and Shweta Venkat Mathew's editing could have been slicker in the second half. On the whole, RASHMI ROCKET tackles an important issue and is laced with a powerful performance by Taapsee Pannu. The movie will need a strong word of mouth as the lack of buzz around the film might prove to be a dampener to an extent.

Movie Review: Venom - Let There Be Carnage (English) VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE makes for a fun watch and makes for a better watch than the first film in the franchise.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 05:30:00 +0530

Back in 2018, we saw the release of VENOM starring Tom Hardy as journalist Eddie Brock who contracts a symbiot to become Venom. Now years on, we see the release of VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, a sequel to the first film that introduces the race of symbiots. But will the new film in the franchise entice audience is the question. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE follows the story of Eddie Brock who tries to revive his failing career, while at the same time struggling with his symbiot to maintain sense of normalcy. In the midst of his chaotic life, Brock receives a peculiar invitation from serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) on death row. The police request Brock to speak to Kasady and uncover where he hid his victims. An unexpected visual engraving on his visit to Kasady reveals the mystery location that Kasady used to hide his victims, which eventually moves up Kasady’s sentence. Angered by this, Kasady sends Brock a note inviting him to witness his end since it was him who organised it. In his second meeting with Kasady, Brock is bitten by the serial killer who unintentionally comes into contact with a symbiot, thus giving existence to Carnage. Now combined with Carnage, Kasady is out for revenge on those who have slighted him. Will Brock and Venom manage to subdue Kasady and Carnage, or will the latter two overpower the journalist is what forms the rest of the film. VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE begins with a montage from 1996 that introduces key characters of the film like Frances Barrison (Naomie Harris), Cleatus Kasady, Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). After the introductions and a bit of back story, the film continues to the main character of Eddie Brock and his symbiot Venom detailing his struggle to regain his stature in the world of journalism. From there, the film quickly progresses to Kasady and Brock’s encounter, wherein Kasady comes in contact with a symbiot bringing into existence Carnage. From here the pace of the film picks up dramatically as a cat and mouse chase begins involving all the characters introduced so far. Director Andy Serkis has done a good job with the direction. Despite there being multiple story tracks running simultaneously, he manages to merge them seamlessly making for a pleasurable viewing experience. A note here needs to be made that even though the film continues to be rather dark, it has much more lighter moments than the first film. In fact, the constant banter between Brock and Venom adds some fun light moments to the film. Speaking of the performances, Tom Hardy has once again proved his excellence as a strong actor, perfectly portraying a man torn between what he wants to do, what he has to do, and what he is made to do. Woody Harrelson as Cleatus Kasady AKA Carnage has similarly done an exceptional job in his given role. Harrelson manages to portray an air of menace even behind bars in a guarded room. His play on expressions, voice modulation and of course his acting talent give substance and life to his role. Naomie Harris as Frances Barrison does well, but seems to be severely underutilised, especially since she could easily have crippled both Venom and Carnage if given the chance. However, on the other hand, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying seems to have a meatier role in this film as compared to the first. In fact, she plays a rather pivotal role in the film that helps take the story forward. Given that VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE is an actioner that features aliens there is bound to be use of CGI and there is loads of it. However, despite being high on CGI content, the film’s visuals appear seamless and clean. A commendable job done by the VFX department that have maintained a sense of realism while executing action sequences. A special note here needs to be made for the action team for maintaining the physics of the film, which stays true despite the gravity defying stunts. In terms of background score, Marco Beltrami as the composer has done well to lend the visuals with a captivating track that elevates the viewing experience. On the whole, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE makes for a fun watch. Better than the first film in the franchise, VENOM 2 that takes the character’s story forward to interlink it with yet another major franchise is a definite must watch for Marvel fans. At the box office, the film is likely to see a good spate of collections.