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Showing posts with the label prime video

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 ...
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THE FAMILY MAN S2(2021) review

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Streaming on : Amazon prime video (9 episodes)  Directed by: Raj-DK and Suparn Varma  Cast: Manoj Bajpaye, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Shahab Ali, Samantha Akkineni, Ashlesha Thakur, Vedant Sinha, Sharad Kelkar, Dalip Tahil, Darshan Kumar, Aritro R Banerjee, Anand Sami, Ravindra Vijay, Rajesh Balachandiran, Devadarshini, Udayabhanu Maheshwaran, Sunny Hinduja and Seema Biswas.  And just when you feel the level of Indian web series is stooping low, arrives the second season of Family Man, it was good in 2019, it’s much much better this time. Wonder how the director trio made a series so full of excitement and intrigue without a single “dull” moment. There are so many things happening, everything at fast speed, so many characters involved, yet there’s not an iota of confusion or mismanagement here, kudos to the team for a clear winner.  While the first season dealt with Pakistani cum Kerala based terrorist activities , this time the focus shifts to Sri Lankan terrorists ...
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THE LAST HOUR (2021) Review

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Directed by: Amit Kumar  Streaming on: Amazon prime video  Cast: Sanjay Kapoor, Karma Takapa, Shaylee Krishen, Shahana Goswami, Robin Tamang, Mandakini, Raima Sen, Lanuakom Ao, Debashish Lama, Tenzein Choden, and others  What’s the best location for a supernatural murder mystery? Nope not a Ramsay brother Haveli, it’s a foggy misty hill station that can give you the chills and the thrills. How I wish the direction was as thrilling and chilling here. Sigh.  A Mumbai based investigations officer is relocated to the north eastern Indian region, he soon gets assigned the task to track down the culprits behind the rape and murder of a tourist who was a Bengali film star. The murders do not stop there, and the officer (played by Sanjay Kapoor) soon realises it’s a pretty complicated mystery to crack down. A young Shaman (what’s that? Google and you’ll get a detailed description of these mysterious people who can travel in the middle world along with spirits) helps the off...
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TANDAV [2021]: review

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Directed by: Ali Abbas Zafar  Cast: Mohammad Z Ayub, Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kumud Kumar Mishra, Sunil Grover, Kritika Kamra, Hiten Tejwani, Dino Morea, Anup Soni, Sandhya Mridul, Gauahar Khan, Sarah Jane Dias, Amyra Dastur, Shonali Nagrani, Paresh Pahuja and others.  Makes one wonder why a film maker like Prakash Jha shifted gears from his realistic hard hitting cinema to a web-series like Aashram(2020), wish he had helmed a project like Tandav(2021) instead of Ali Abbas Zafar who has messed up a brilliant script with an hackneyed direction. Jha specialises in such socio political thriller based concepts, you just wish only wish!  Set in Delhi, the heart of Indian politics this web-series is entirely based on dirty political system of the nation along with an alternate linked storyline of university student politics. The main focus is on the fight between a political heir and his father’s mistress for the prime ministerial throne. They play dirt...
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COOLIE NO.1(2020): review

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Director: David Dhawan  Cast: Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, Jaaved Jaffri, Johnny Lever, Anil Dhawan, Sahil Vaid, Bharti Achrekar, Shikha Talsania, Rajpal Yadav, Hemant Panday, Manoj Joshi, Vikas Verma.  Yet another remake! That’s going to be the standard expression no? David Dhawan remakes his own 90s hit, frame by frame, no room for improvisation, includes comic formulae that is so 90s that it’s outdated now, sigh! And as an audience you are expected to lap it up.  The story which has its basic plot exactly the same as the original goes like this, a Panditji (Javed Jaffri) is humiliated during a matchmaking  by an eccentric wealthy man(Paresh Rawal) who’s a Goan Christian. Now what a hindu pandit was doing at a Christian matchmaking ahem, it’s communal harmony you see. Anyways the pandit vows revenge and plans to get the wealthy man’s daughter married off to a roadside , err railway side coolie(Varun Dhawan). To complicate matters the coolie has to ro...
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UNPAUSED(2020) review

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Directed by: Raj/DK, Nikhil Advani, Tanishta Chatterjee, Avinash Arun and Nitya Mehra.  Cast: Gulshan Devaiah, Saiyami Kher, Richa Chadda, Sumit Vyas, Ishwak Singh, Lilette Dubey, Rinku Rajguru, Abhishek Banerji, Geetika Ohlyan, Master Pallas, Ratna Pathak Shah, Shardul Bharadwaj.  The dreaded corona virus and the unexpected lockdown! Nobody escaped it this year, nobody really saw it coming, and the human race is still discovering the nectar vaccine. ‘Unpaused’ is an anthology series comprising five shorts based on the pandemic lockdown theme, the characters therein are battling the dilemma and insecurities erupted during the lockdown.  Glitch - set in a futuristic set up in 2032 when scientists are still struggling to find the vaccine, though technologically the world has advanced and we see an “hypo” and a covid warrior warming up to each other on a virtual date! Things take an U-turn once tragedy strikes and their relationship needs an reinvention. Worth watching for D...
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DURGAMATI (2020): Review

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Directed by: Ashok  Cast: Jishu Sengupta, Bhumi Pednekar, Arshad Warsi, Mahie Gill, Anant Mahadevan, Karan Kapadia, Amit Bahl and others.  What did I just watch? Still trying to figure out what was happening in this alleged supernatural thriller. Supposed to be an amazon prime original which is remake of a South Indian hit, original remake anyone? Phew !! It’s nothing more than cinematic torture on screen.  The so called original story is based in Madhya Pradesh (beautiful location selected) where an IAS officer who’s also a murder convict is subjected to severe interrogation in an isolated apparent haunted Haveli. Sounds weird? If you watch the on screen proceedings then calling it weird would be an understatement. Things get complex when the accused gets possessed by the ghost of a slain queen who in some bygone era ruled that kingdom. Wow so original!  With a foolishly developed concept like that along with some idiotic political angle thrown in this is severe men...
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CHHALANG[2020]: an “offbeat” leap !

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Director: Hansal Mehta  Cast: Rajkumar Rao, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Nushrat Bharucha, Satish Kaushik, Saurabh Shukla, Ila Arun, Naman Jain, Jatin Sarna, & others.  This offbeat ‘coming of age’ movie belongs to those Bollywood fares where as a viewer you know what’s going to happen in the end, that it’s the hero who’ll triumph victorious, and yet you flow with the tide notwithstanding the predictability.  Set in Haryana, it’s a simple story about a young PT teacher in a govt aided school played by Rao (brilliant), who’s laidback, callous and has a ‘chalta hai’ attitude towards his work. Things take a major u-turn when a rival PT teacher joins the school and is determined to displace Rao from his position. Realising how he’s been taking his life, work and the students for granted, Rao undergoes an attitude transformation to consolidate his position and prove his capabilities.  We’ve seen such stuff earlier in Hollywood as well as Indian movies, there have been some ...
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MIRZAPUR 2 : Great expectations?

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Cast: Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Divyendu Sharma, Shweta Tripathi, Isha Talwar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rasika Dugal, Amit Sial, Anil George, Anjum Sharma, Rajesh Tailang, Meghana Mallik, Sheeba Chadda, Harshita Gaur, Rajesh Jais, Vijay Verma, Liliput Farooqi, and others.  After my first impressions about the much awaited and even more over hyped season 2 of MIRZAPUR it certainly deserved a afterthought review. Ten super length episodes later it’s more of an impatiently exhaustive feeling !  After a horrifyingly delicious finale in season 1 the series moves at a snail’s pace throughout except the final episode in season 2 wherein it’s in the fifth gear, but that’s too late. The entire slow paced, pseudo intellectual kind treatment this season backfires, comparisons with season 1 are inevitable, but even if we do not compare the two seasons, this time it’s quite a dull affair to view. And binge watch is strongly not recommended unless you’ve a determined extreme patience level....
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MIRZAPUR 2 (2020) review

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MIRZAPUR 2 (2020)  Directed by: Gurmeet Singh and Mihir Desai  Cast: Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Divyendu, Shweta Tripathi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Vijay Verma, Amit Sial, Shahnawaz Pradhan, Sheeba Chadda, Meghana Mallik, Anjum Sharma and others.  When the season one aired two year ago it was novel, shocking by conservative Indian standards, viewers were still getting accustomed to the uncensored, dark side of the ott platform, web-series in particular. Mirzapur2 suffers from the same disability as Sacred games2, over exposure of content. We’ve already seen it all, so what more can they provide?  Unfortunately season 2 relies unapologetically on the strong premise of previous season, there’s nothing new to offer, the original content or any shockers we expect are missing, though it’s only on basis of first impressions and first two episodes alone, the spark is missing. With Guddu, Golu and Sharad burning with the desire of revenge, and th...
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पाताल लोक (2020) review

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पाताल लोक (2020)  Directed by: Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy  Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi, Ishwak Singh, Gul Panag, Jagjeet Sandhu, Aasif Khan, Bodhisattva Sharma, Swastika Mukherjee, Aakash Khurana, Vipin Sharma, Loveleen Mishra, Maerambam R Singh, Rajesh Sharma, & Abhishek Banerjee. Dark, gripping, thrilling and expectedly disturbing, that’s what Paatal Lok is all about. Right at the outset the protagonist played by Jaideep Ahlawat as a righteous cop explains to his subordinate about the three Loks humankind belong to viz; Swarg Lok inhabited by God, Dharti Lok by common men and the dreaded Paatal Lok for which the viewers have to take a ride through the nine chilling episodes to get acquainted with the rotten reality of our mere existence in a hollow world.  The plot centres around a failed assassination on a leftist liberal media personality, the attempt thwarted by the cops get the four assassins arrested. The cop assigned the case starts investigating and ...
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