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Showing posts from 2016

JAWAAN (2023) : review

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And finally the much hyped, much awaited Jawaan saw light of the day ! Big stars, big budget( humongous budget actually), big music composer, everything super large. But does it meet the expectations of the average viewer? No it goes not. Read on.  A decorated jawan locks horns with a criminal called Kaali, this is in 1986 ( the year movies like Aakhri Raasta released, just for reference). Kaali gets him eliminated and send the pregnant wife to jail. The baby born in jail grows up to become the hero (look alike of the father) and decides to avenge the misdeeds done to his innocent patriotic parents. Well, isn’t it a masaaledaar full on Bollywood- Tollywood drama subject ?  And then the director Atlee also borrows ideas and references from various retro movies, some idea from Sholay (1975) as the hero assembled a gang of jailed Qaidis in order to form a team to nab the villain, then there’s an entire episode borrowed from Dhartiputra (1993), and the basic theme is copy pasted from Kaml
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Action in the right direction : Dangal

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Dangal (2016) An official biopic with layers of dramatic emotions and sportsman spirit based on the life of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his victorious daughters "Dangal" is a definite treat for the viewers. Director: Nitesh Tiwari Cast: Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sakshi Tanwar, Suhani Bhatnagar, Saniya Malhotra, Aparshakti Khurana, Shishir Sharma, Girish Kulkarni, Vivaan Bathena. The movie Dangal begins with the age old patriarchal norms our society has been subjected to wherein birth of a girl child is not considered a celebration, instead you have a woman apologising to her husband for not bearing a male child to him. After fathering four daughters, former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat( Aamir Khan) loses all hope of reliving his aborted dream of winning an international gold in wrestling. Within a short span his first born Geeta shows unmatchable grit and determination to plunge into wrestling, an arena which is dominated by men. Phogat faces all odds from th
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Yeh movie hai badi mushkil

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Ae Dil Hai Mushkil  (2016) The self proclaimed King of Romance sagas Karan Johar returns with a mixed bag of emotions and laughter with a movie infused with loads of saccharine sweet romance titled "Ae Dil hai mushkil" Directed by : Karan Johar Cast : Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma The ultimate King of Sugar candy floss romantic family sagas Sir KJo transports the viewers to London where we are introduced to two star crossed lovers who are unable to accept each other's feelings to reciprocate. The two buddies Ayaan(Kapoor) and Alizeh  (Sharma) share a platonic bond until an ex flame enters the scene and Alizeh is hooked, booked and married off. The lovers reunite after two years but things ain't the same and tragedy strikes. Johar infuses the film Ae dil hai Mushkil with an overload of Forced humour and sugar sweet romance in the first half. The lead pair is made to imitate vintage bollywood dances in the plush locations of Paris. The second half is a complete
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Thumbs up for justice : PINK

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PINK  [2016] PINK is one of those rare movies that hits you so hard that you wonder why such movies ain't made more often in Bollywood. Minus the glitz and glamour PINK is a must watch for all cinema lovers. Director: Aniruddha Roy Chaudhary Cast: Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tareyang, Amitabh Bachchan, Piyush Mishra, Rushaal Tandon, Angad Bedi, Vinod Nagpal & Dhritiman Chatterji. As the opening credits of PINK are displayed and you see the names of three relatively unknown female actors being billed before a megastar who gets billed fourth, you realise you are not going to watch a regular masala bollywood movie. The indication of something different & introspective can be presumed right from the opening sequence. A young working woman who lives independently in a rented flat with her two room mates is accused of attempting to murder a highly influential young man and is tried in the court of law. An ageing retired lawyer takes up the case to fight tooth and nai
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Rebooted Evil Souls: Raaz Reboot

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Raaz Reboot  [2016] Yet another "Evil Soul" stirring saga in the Bhatt  camp's Raaz Franchise this time aptly titled Raaz Reboot. Directed by: Vikram Bhatt Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Kirti Kharbanda, Gaurav Arora. The Bhatts are back with yet another Horror film that can easily pass off as an unintentional comedy or better still a Sex comedy. How many times in the past have we watched a Horror film where a young couple moves into a Haunted Mansion and one of them gets possessed by an evil spirit? The most tried tested and abused formula has been unapologetically misused yet again by the Bhatts to "showcase" a suspense horror drama set in the breathtakingly beautiful location of Romania. Raaz Reboot starts off with a young newly married couple Rehan[Arora] & Shaina[Kharbanda] relocating to Romania for the former's new job. They move into a mansion and all hell breaks loose when Shaina gets possessed by an Evil Spirit. Various helpers are summoned including
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Rebooted Evil Souls: Raaz Reboot

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Raaz Reboot  [2016] Yet another "Evil Soul" stirring saga in the Bhatt  camp's Raaz Franchise this time aptly titled Raaz Reboot. Directed by: Vikram Bhatt Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Kirti Kharbanda, Gaurav Arora. The Bhatts are back with yet another Horror film that can easily pass off as an unintentional comedy or better still a Sex comedy. How many times in the past have we watched a Horror film where a young couple moves into a Haunted Mansion and one of them gets possessed by an evil spirit? The most tried tested and abused formula has been unapologetically misused yet again by the Bhatts to "showcase" a suspense horror drama set in the breathtakingly beautiful location of Romania. Raaz Reboot starts off with a young newly married couple Rehan[Arora] & Shaina[Kharbanda] relocating to Romania for the former's new job. They move into a mansion and all hell breaks loose when Shaina gets possessed by an Evil Spirit. Various helpers are summoned including
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Time Travel with Siddharth Malhotra

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BAAR BAAR DEKHO  [2016] You get to travel in time in the near and not so near future with the lead actor in Baar Baar Dekho which is Bollywood's first of its kind psychological rom-com. Director: Nitya Mehra Cast: Siddharth Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Ram Kapoor, Rajit Kapur, Sarika, Sagar Arya, Tahaa Shah, Sayani Gupta. Baar Baar Dekho follows the life of a young Mathematics Professor Jay Varma[Malhotra] who is obsessed with his work and Mathematics, the obsession is so chronic that he tends to literally calculate everything happening in his life. And then one fine morning he realises he's skipped a few(or maybe quite a few) years of his precious life and reached the future where things ain't exactly as he expected or planned. With a rich and supportive production unit comprising of big shots like Karan Johar, Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar the expectations from Baar Baar Dekho are undoubtedly sky high but alas the newbie director Nitya Mehra delivers a turkey. The s
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Akira: Lot of not so Khamosh Action

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AKIRA [2016] "Hell hath no fury like a Woman Scorned" and if that woman is a certain Sonakshi Sinha then the tormentors better be aware. AKIRA is a action thriller with a bad ass protagonist who kicks butt like playing a footie. Directed by: A.R. Murugadoss Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Anurag Kashyap, Nandu Madhav, Amit Sadh, Konkona Sen Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Uday Sabnis, Lokesh Gupte, Smita Jayakar, Teena Singh, Raai Lakshmi, Urmila Mahanta, Chaitanya Chaudhary, Mishieka Arora. Akira is a fast paced kick-ass action drama about a small town young girl [ Sinha] who has to relocate to Mumbai city due to family reasons. Apart from facing the sarcasm of her sister and law & constant ragging by her female batch mates in college she also has a rebellious past to live with. Some unfortunate chain of events drag Akira into the dangerous Web of crime & deceit. Her single handed fight against some notorious men in uniform forms the crux of this thriller. Director Murugadoss who
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The doe eyed Nepalese Beauty

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A striking talent called Manisha Koirala Today the beautiful Manisha Koirala turns 46. She needs no introduction in an industry where nothing matters more than success, and success she achieved in plenty not only with box office hits but also with her bravura performances that enthralled the viewers throughout the 90s. Her first brush with the camera was at the age of 18 when she acted in a Nepali movie Pheri Bhetaula which translates to Phir Milenge in Hindi. She was discovered in Bollywood by Show Man Subhash Ghai who cast her in his ambitious project Saudagar(1991) which also starred Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar. After a spate of insignificant masala films between 1991-1994 Koirala struck gold when she replaced Queen Bee Madhuri Dixit in Vinod Chopra's patriotic drama 1942 A Love Story(1994). She impressed the viewers and critics with her performance of the innocent and beautiful revolutionary Rajeshwari. Her career took a major U turn with Mani Rathnam's Bombay(1995) where
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Back in time: Mohenjodaro

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Mohenjo Daro  [2016] Travel back in time with Ashutosh Gowarikar's latest period drama Mohenjo Daro that boasts of a huge budget & stellar star cast. Directed by: Ashutosh Gowarikar Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pooja Hegde, Kabir Bedi, Nitish Bharadwaj, Arunoday Singh, Manish Chaudhari, Sharad Kelkar, Narendra Jha, Suhasini Mulay, Kishori Shahane, Jividha Sharma, Digant Hazarika. Mohenjo Daro is set in 2016 B.C. [ no pun intended] in the Indus Valley Civilization where a small time farmer from a farming village visits the endearing and populated big city Mohenjo Daro & falls hopelessly in love with a Priest's beautiful daughter, this liaison sparks enmity with the influential Doyen of the city & his son who is engaged with the girl. Rest of the film is about some past secrets revealed & how the ambitious protagonist challenges & eventually dethrons the evil villain from his dominating position. Gowarikar is obsessed with period dramas and has a special liking
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The jury's verdict: Rustom

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Rustam [2016] Rustom is inspired by the sensational Nanawati Murder Case that shocked the nation in 1959 & put an abrupt & much needed end to the age old Jury System in India. Directed by: Tinu Desai Cast: Akshay Kumar, Illeana D'cruz ,Sachin Khedekar, Pawan Malhotra, Kumud Mishra, Arjan Bajwa, Esha Gupta, Usha Nadkarni, Kanwaljeet Singh, Parmeet Sethi, Brijendra Kala, Anang Desai Circa 1959, a Senior Naval Officer [Akshay Kumar] brutally murders his wife's alleged lover a high society Playboy. The entire movie chronicles the Officer's legal tussle to prove his innocence & the widespread media coverage that the controversial murder case gains which fuels a more aggressive court room drama. Director Tinu Desai has managed to create a gripping and interesting storyline in Rustom wherein the court room drama manages to keep the audience interested and involved in the proceedings, but beyond a point it does appear one dimensional and solo tracked with majority
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Trouble in the Middle East: Dishoom

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Dishoom (2016) "Dishoom" is yet another comedy meets action meets thriller drama which heads nowhere and relies entirely on Style and zero Substance! Directed by: Rohit Dhawan Cast: Varun Dhawan, John Abraham, Akshaye Khanna, Jacqueline Fernandes, Tarun Chopra, Vijay Raaz, Rahul Dev, Saqeeb Salim, Mona Ambegaonkar, Nargis Fakhri, Rashmi Nigam. There is super trouble "somewhere in the Middle East" when an Indian Cricket Player(Saqeeb Salim) is kidnapped hours before a highly publicised and eagerly awaited match between India and Pakistan. India sends a no nonsense attitude tough Cop ( Abraham) who is joined by an over enthusiastic funny Cop  (Dhawan) there so that he can assist in cracking the mystery. Throughout the chase the Cop Buddies meet various characters that keep popping like pop corns and giving leads. Rohit Dhawan who has earlier directed the Comedy Desi Boyz is totally directionless in this venture "Dishoom" which starts off as a serious ki
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Great Grand Masti: Invitation to Headache

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Great Grand Masti  [2016] Director: Indra Kumar Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftaab Shivadasani, Urvashi Rautela, Shreyas Talpade, Sudesh Lahiri, Sanjay Mishra, Usha Nadkarni, Mishti Chakravarti, Shraddha Das, Puja Banerjee, Sonali Raut, Kangana Sharma, Kedar Karande. The Masti Franchise is back and the irritating trio of Amar/Prem/Meet are presenting triple the fun considering its the third installment In the Masti series hence the director has three major genres clubbed into one viz; Comedy /Horror/ Sex. Three friends whom the viewers are already familiar with thanks to the roaring success of the first two installments, come together & realise all three are leading a bland and sex deprived life due to interfering relatives and extended family members living in their respective homes. They head to a village in order to have some "Masti" as usual but end up trapped in an haunted mansion that is occupied by the ghost of a sex starved woman who had died a Virgin
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Bittersweet Melody: Sulakshna Pandit

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Today Sulakshna Pandit turned 62. Sulakshna.? Pandit.? Who ?  Exactly the queries that would arise in the minds of today's whatsapp/twitter generation youngsters. Well, Sulakshna Pandit may not be a big name today but in her heydays she was the only Singing Actress who hypnotised the audience with her chiseled beauty and honey dipped vocals. Pandit was born on 12th July 1954 in an illustrious Musical Family which boasts of legendary classical exponents like her Father Pratap Narain Pandit and uncle Padmshri Pandit Jasraj. She started her Bollywood career as a child singer singing the lullaby "Pappa Jaldi Aa Jana" along with Lata Mangeshkar in Taqdeer(1967). Being rooted in music and having the signing genes in her DNA she continued singing in films such as Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Main, Mahua, Door Ka Rahi and also accompanied singers Mohammed Rafi , Kishore Kumar and Mukesh on their World Tour Concerts. Her career took a dramatic turn in 1974 when she was offered the roman
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Unsung Melodies

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Unsung Melodies / Different Strokes When we think of the most perfect voice for a quintessential traditional Bollywood heroine we want to hear the most sweet and high pitch voice. It's like the leading lady has to sound saccharine sweet with honey dipping out of her on screen vocals. The immensely gifted and supremely talented songstress Lata Mangeshkar dominated the music scene for over 5 decades with her perfect renditions and lilting Melodies making every song she sang a classic to remember forever. During her reign there were some singers who came in with a lot of promise and had at least one hit song to their credit but eventually disappeared from the industry after a painstakingly brief struggle to reach the top. Vani Jayram: Can anyone forget the classically endearing voice singing "Bole re papeehara " in Guddi  [1971]? Vani had the perfect notes to her credit and sang for musicians like R D Burman & O P Nayyar. Her soulful Meera Bhajans under the music baton
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The Killer Instinct : Raman Raghav 2.0

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Raman Raghav 2.0 [2016] Directed by : Anurag Kashyap Cast : Nawazuddin Siddiqui & Vicky Kaushal Even though this psychological thriller begins  with a disclaimer that it's not based on the life of the infamous serial killer Raman Raghav who terrorised the city of Bombay in the 60s, the director borrows heavily from the life and times of the doomed psychopath. Ramanna alias Raman [ Siddiqui] is a Serial killer on the loose and targets anybody at random to satisfy his thirst for cold blooded brutal murders. Almost parallel to this track there is an young investigating officer Raghvendra Singh  [Kaushal] who has his own personal issues to face whilst on the move to track down the serial killer. As the cat & mouse game progresses the death count also increases. Kashyap who impressed with Ugly[2013] and disappointed with Bombay Velvet  [2015] has got it all wrong this time too. It's an impressive way of presenting the movie in 8 episodes almost like visualising an episo
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Udta Punjab: Superb Attempt

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Udta Punjab [2016] Directed by: Abhishek Chaubey Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Alia Bhatt & Shahid Kapoor Bollywood has explored the taboo topic of substance abuse right from Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) days , until recently in Rohan Sippy's Dum Maro Dum(2011) but then the drug mafia was never really the central point of discussion in any movies with several other candyfloss subplots to overshadow the same. Abhishek Chaubey pushes the envelope far enough to expose the dark reality prevailing in Punjab where the youth is entangled in the deadly cobweb of Drug abuse. Set in Punjab the movie is chronicled through the eyes of Three Protagonists. There is a Rock star Tejinder aka Tommy Singh[Shahid Kapoor] who promotes drugs through his music in order to gain popularity among the fans and seeks redemption when he gets acquainted with the bitter reality. Then we have a Sikh Cop [Diljit Singh] who conveniently turns a blind eye to the drug dealings until his own teenage
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TE3N : Mystery at its best

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TE3N [2016 ] Directed by : Ribhu Dasgupta Cast : Amitabh Bachchan There are certain high profile restaurants that serve exotic or authentic dishes which need an "acquired taste" for a consumer to actually relish them. TE3N which is a psychological thriller falls in that category wherein the viewer needs to like such genres in order to actually understand and enjoy the proceedings on screen. Set in Bengal, an old grandfather John Biswas  [Amitabh Bachchan] is distraught when his loving grand child Angela is kidnapped by an unknown person. Inspite of his sincere attempts to cooperate with the kidnapper the child is murdered. The Murderer/ Kidnapper remains a mystery and is never nabbed nor does anybody know his identity. Eight years later another grandfather [ Sabyasachi Chakraborty] faces a similar dilemma when his grand child is kidnapped exactly in the same manner as the modus operandi followed in the previous crime. This time the Cops and the Family do not want to lose
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Headache Full

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Housefull 3 [2016] Director : Sajid & Farhad Cast: Akshay Kumar & Jacqueline Fernandes So the "Houesefull" franchise is back to tickle the audience's funny bone and "I yaama not Jokinng" ! After subjecting the audience to sheer cinematic torture in the two prequels this third installment Is by far the worst. There is absolutely no novelty in the subject and insanely cringe worthy dialogues only make the onscreen torture worse. Batuk Patel  (Boman Irani) is an NRI settled in London with three beautiful daughters who speak anglicised Hindi. He doesn't want them to get married and there is a well guarded mystery to that which the viewers uncover at interval point[ not that anybody would have been interested in cracking the badly baked secret]. The girls fall hopelessly in love with three Indian Men, a Sportsmen suffering from split personality (Akshay Kumar) , a car racer (Ritesh Deshmukh) & a rapper (Abhishek Bachchan). The three men have to pr
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No Phobia here !

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Phobia (2016) Directed by : Pawan Kirpalani Cast: Radhika Apte & Satyadeep Misra It's often said every individual has some or the other phobia , from a harmless insect phobia to something as grave as a fear that could lead to chronic psychological disorders and that's exactly what the leading lady of this scary movie suffers from. Scary movie it is, but not your regular Bollywood horror . If you expect a long haired tantric chanting mantra or a white washed make up Daayan or Chudail then you are in for disappointment. This thriller is more of a psychological horror show with a running time of crisp 112 minutes only. The movie chronicles the fears and suspicions of a young woman Mehak  ( Radhika Apte) who is staying in a dark spooky apartment all by herself and suffering from agoraphobia  ( as informed in the movie it's a psychological condition where the patient fears to step out of the house, several Hollywood celebrities are quoted in the film for having suffered
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Truly Zingaat!

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सैराट [2016] Director: Nagraj Popatrao Manjule Cast: Akash Thosar & Rinku Rajguru Marathi Cinema has surprised us with some excellent creations in the recent past and one such masterpiece was Director Manjule's Fandry, with Sairat he's proven his mettle as a strong and competent Film maker. A beautiful love story that blooms in a village between a young girl from an influential affluent family and a boy from a low caste poor background. As expected the families oppose and the couple run away in pursuit of a better future. The concept may have been handled earlier in countless Bollywood hits and flops , here it is Manjule's unique treatment and sensitive realistic portrayal of the love story that is impressive and admirable, he never goes over the top in any of the scenes. While the first half is layered with romance, comedy and 4 melodious songs (Ajay Atul at their best) the second half introduces the lead pair and the audience to bitter reality. Manjule manages to
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Not exactly a Sixer!

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AZHAR (2016) Directed by: Tony D'souza Cast: Emran Hashmi, Lara Dutta & Kunal Roy Kapur This decade has seen quite a few biographies on screen ( Milkha Singh, Mary Com etc) which have been applauded by viewers and critics alike, this Balaji Pictures presentation chronicles the rise & fall of former Indian Cricket Captain Muhammed Azharuddin. Born & raised in Hyderabad, India a small town boy reaches the zenith of success and popularity in the field of cricket & eventually gets entangled in a Web of controversies ranging from the infamous match fixing incident to a scandalous extra marital affair with a starlet. The movie is nothing more than a desperate attempt to prove the protagonist's innocence. Director D'souza builds up an interesting factual series of events but it is the unbelievably fictional climax that leaves you dissatisfied. Music by Amaal Mallik is soothing & melodious. Emran Hashmi plays a role of a lifetime & looks suitable for t
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Not so Spooky Tale

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1920 London [2016] Director: Tinu Dessai Cast: Sherman Joshi & Meera Chopra It's a big tragedy as to when the Bhatts would stop producing their Murder and 1920 Franchise as it's only getting worse with no sign of improvement. Set in 1920, London ( as suggested by the title) a bewildered young woman faces the nightmare of her life when her husband is possessed by an evil spirit. She has to take help from her ex lover ( a Shepherd turned exorcist) who comes all the way from Rajasthan to London to help his first love. The director fails in creating any chilling or spooky moments, the intended scary scenes end up appearing hilarious. Though certified "Strictly For Adults" this unintentional comedy can be viewed by a kindergarten kid. The Music is the weakest link except for the haunting Gumnaam remix. The special effects are of the cheapest standards, the only noteworthy aspect is the shocking twist at interval point. Sad to see a gifted actor like Sherman Joshi
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A rebel who loves to kick butt

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Baaghi [2016] Director: Sabbir Khan Now one can't expect much from the director of the long forgotten "Heropanti" , but it's quite a welcome change to watch a movie which isn't exactly your regular run of the mill Bollywood saga. A wannabe starlet is kidnapped by a Bangkok based Indian Gangster, her father summons her ex boyfriend to rescue her. With a hackneyed plot like that you can't really hunt for much logic or novelty in an already messed up screenplay and story. But the movie rides high on its highly impressive action sequences showcasing the ancient Indian martial arts forms. Only two things stand out in this hard-core action  thriller A- The super impressive well executed fight scenes and B- the breathtakingly beautiful locations shot in Kerala which look like a painting. On the direction front Mr.Khan is highly disappointing as the story or the lack of it is directionless, there are unlimited loopholes in the weak and unimpressive direction. Hig
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Fan: an interesting fanfare

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FAN [2016] Directed by: Maneesh Sharma Yash Raj Films tries to recreate the early 90s SRK magic of the anti-hero who may commit crime on screen but manages to get audience sympathy. This psychological thriller deals with the psyche of a middle class small town boy Gaurav Chanana  (SRK with excellent make up to make him look 25) who is a self proclaimed fan of a reigning superstar Aryan Khanna (SRK playing himself). An unfortunate incident between the fan and the star turns the admiration into obsession leading to a series of events wherein Gaurav tries to and nearly succeeds in turning his obsession into reality. The director scores majorly in the second half as the first half is mediocre, the thrilling sequences shot in London are worthwhile. Best decision by the makers was to keep the thriller song less. On the acting front SRK is outstanding as Gaurav, playing the star Aryan must have been a cakewalk for him, he succeeds in obtaining sympathy for the obsessed doppelganger role.
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