Posts

JAWAAN (2023) : review

-
Image
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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

RAID ~~~~~ the review

-
RAID (2018)  Director- Raj Kumar Gupta  This gripping thriller is inspired by the true events of income tax raids conducted by the Indian revenue service in the 1980’s which created a sensation in the political and public scenario at that time.  Set in 1981 in Uttar Pradesh, an earnestly honest IT officer Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgun) gets leads of black money being stocked at the residence of an influential minister Rameshwar Singh aka Tauji (Saurabh Shukla), he raids the big palatial mansion along with his team and fights all odds including political, violent and even emotional barriers in order to extract the ‘hidden treasure’.  Ajay Devgun is sincere in his act and looks like he’s carrying forward his Singham & Gangaajal avatar. He looks mature and fits the part convincingly and thankfully does not go over the top. Saurabh Shukla complements Devgun’s Ram with his fantastic portrayal of the Kalyug Ka Ravan. His archetypal killer look and menacing dialogues delive...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hate Story 4 ~~~~ The Review

-
It’s raining Franchise in Bollywood. You’ve a hit movie and if there is any chance of cashing on that genre then churning out a series of franchise seems to be the latest fashion in the past ten years. ‘Hate Story’ franchise is exclusively the erotic thriller genre and it categorically targets a certain section of viewers.  The fourth installment is set in the beautiful picturesque London, the movie begins itself with a shocking murder and then switches over to a hackneyed flashback, in case that gives you an headache this movie has flashback Mein flashback concept which will confuse you even more, in fat it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. The story revolves around a night club dancer (Urvashi Rautela) who is handpicked by a corporate family (Gulshan Grover and sons) to be the official model to represent their new brand of cosmetics in the UK, after a series of twists & turns( which could even put Abbas Mustan to shame), generous liplocks & body show and off course murders we are f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Death of a Superstar !

-
Image
She was “Hawa Hawai” to some and “Chandni” to many , she was worshipped like an goddess down south and applauded as the first female superstar in Bollywood. She ‘was’ SRIDEVI !  Born in an humble family background she started acting in films at the age of 4 often playing a child god in mythological movies in Tamil and Telugu. She turned a leading lady at 13 acting opposite stars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Hasan. Within no time she was the most sought after heroine in south cinema. Her first brush with Bollywood is the forgettable disaster Solva Sawan (1979), not one to be deterred by failure she marched ahead in an industry where even the language was unknown to her. With a bravura performance in Sadma (1983) and back to back hits like Himmatwala (1983) and Justice Chaudhry (1983) she cemented her position in Bollywood.  At that point she had many factors against her including her poor diction and inability to speak in Hindi, strong competition from senior Heroines like Rekha ...
Post a Comment
Read more

GULAB JAAM

-
Gulab Jaam (2018)  Director: Sachin Kundalkar  Director Kundalkar is known for some notable work In Marathi cinema like Restaurant, Vazandar, Rajwade & sons, Gandh etc. “Gulab Jaam” may not be his best but it’s certainly one of the better films made in Marathi cinema.  An UK based banker Aditya ( Siddharth Chandekar) wraps up an hurried engagement in Mumbai and hops into a pune train instead of his uk flight. He embarks on a self searching journey to Pune with the sole intent of learning authentic maharashtrian vegetarian cuisine as he plans to set up a Marathi gourmet restaurant back home in the UK. He comes across an reclusive and accentric middle aged tiffin supplier Radha ( Sonali Kulkarni) who after much persuasion takes him under her wings to tutor him and share her secret recipes.  Kundalkar has used Pune as a backdrop for this delicious movie as the city boasts of a rich Marathi heritage and culture most of which is still relevant and kept prosperous. The...
Post a Comment
Read more

AAPLA MANUS

-
AAPLA MANUS (2018) Directed by: Satish Rajwade  It is quite pleasant to see Marathi cinema coming of age and invading territories which have been very rarely experimented with, “Aapla Manus” might appear like a boring tear jerker family drama because of that title but it’s actually a psychological thriller playing on the psyche of the viewers as well as the characters therein.  The movie begins on a stormy night when an old man is found fallen off the balcony of his flat in a high rise apartment. A tough disciplined investigating cop Maruti Nagargoje ( Nana Patekar) is assigned the task to crack the mystery behind this fall, besides his quest to uncover the truth whether it was an accident, suicide or murder the movie also delves deep into today’s urban lifestyles adapted by sophisticated ambitious youngsters who tend to neglect older parents in a bid to flourish their own careers.  Director Rajwade has attempted a novel concept based on a play titled Katkon Trikon but hi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Padmaavat (2018)

-
Padmaavat (2018) Directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali  Considering the infamous ruckus created around this movie we realise it’s ‘much ado about nothing’. The movie boasts of Rajput valour and pride rather than demeaning any community in particular.  Set in the 13th century this period drama chronicles the life of an afghani Sultan Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) and his lust for power and more power, how he marches on a self destructive mission in order to be the sole king of the entire nation forms the basic plot of this nearing three hours duration movie !  So basically if the movie is about Khilji then why is it titled “Padmaavat”? Simply because it’s based on an ancient poem by that name and the Queen performs Jauhar ( self immolation)in the climax which is an important sequence. Director Bhansali is obsessed with Khilji which is why the entire drama revolves around him right from his introductory scene which involves an ostrich till the over dramatic finale you get to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dulhania Revisits !!

-
Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya (2017)  So the Dulhaniya returns yet again , this time as a runaway bride all set to challenge age old patriarchal Indian traditions     Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya is a feel good factor romantic comedy dealing with a serious social evil of the horrendous dowry system and gender discrimination.  Director: Shashank Khaitan  Cast: Varuṇ Dhawan and Alia Bhaṭṭ  Set in the beautiful Jhaṅsi city the movie deals with a sweet love story involving a carefree rich boy Badrinath ( Dhawan) and a middle class ambitious girl Vaidehi (Bhaṭṭ). He dreams of marrying her whereas she aspires to fly high pursuing a career of an air hostess. The roller coaster romance that begins in Jhaṅsi soon reaches Mumbai and finally blooms in Singapore. And finally all is well that ends well.  With Karaṇ Johar backing the film its expected to be an predictable love story , inspite of an heavy dose of feminism and gender equality slogans the story drags like a chewing...
Post a Comment
Read more