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Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
Don't believe the low rating
This film does not deserve a one star rating. Period. There are much worse movies than this. Neither is this a ten star film.
What it is, is a very faithful adaptation of Forrest Gump which successfully transplants an American story to an Indian milieu, and improves on Forrest's relationship with Jenny by leaps and bounds, giving it the story arc it originally deserved. The movie also does not pull any punches while showing historical incidents, and actually takes a huge risk by calling out organized religion on the whole (not a specific one as many have been led to believe) as the root cause of all evil (here Malaria). Forrest Gump was a far safer movie and seems tame in comparison - in Lal Singh Chaddha the recreation of the events is much more visceral and realistic and pack quite a punch. While performances from some of the cast including Kareena, Naga Chaitanya and Manav Vij are exceptional, the weakest link in the film is Aamir himself, who is inconsistent and hammy in the extreme in many scenes. Also, Lal Singh Chaddha could have been shorter and better edited but even with all its flaws, it is still heartwarming and funny and good for a one time watch, for both those who have seen Forrest Gump, and those who haven't. Please watch.
Dedh Ishqiya (2014)
Good, but not great
Dedh Ishqiya - the movie with not one but two femme fatale. Without giving the plot away, suffice to say that if you don't compare it with the first part and allow the movie to stand on its own, it stands quite well, populated as it is by strong characters and wonderful lines including some really wonderful poetry. The subtitles help a lot, BTW, though I am pretty sure that 'snafu' is not what chutiyapa means. The movie is fun throughout and though parts of it are extremely predictable and cartoonish (Vijay Raaz and Manoj Pahwa taking their cartoonish roles to the stratosphere), the treatment ensures that there is never a dull moment and there's always an undercurrent of tension laced with humour. No matter how difficult the situation is, we know that nothing truly bad will happen to our lovable thieves or their paramours even when they are outnumbered and out-gunned in a Mexican standoff. It was good to see Madhuri in a leading role after a long time - her casting was bang on, and even Huma in the role of the fiery Muniya who believes that love and sex are two completely different and unrelated things (really? I thought it was only guys who thought that! ), while at the same time knocking boots with both Arshad and Madhuri (in a scene that was a tribute to Ismat Chugtai's Lihaaf), also pretty much chewed up the scenery whenever she was on screen. (On a separate note, while there is no doubting her beauty and acting chops, she does have a rather hefty presence, our girl Huma, and if this was Hollywood I would have bet that some canny filmmaker would have made a female Grudge Match starring her and Sonakshi). There's not much to say about Arshad and Naseeruddin - they own their respective characters now, and Naseer has set such high standards for himself that you don't really find his exceptional performances exceptional anymore. It's just what we are used to. All in all two and a half hours of good entertainment provided you don't go in with great expectations, do like Urdu poetry and don't compare this movie to the first part.
Chander Pahar (2013)
Full marks for trying!
Chander Pahar is by no means perfect, but it's an excellent effort nevertheless that raises the bar for Bengali films (if it can be called that - considering that more English than Bengali is spoken in the movie). Among the things that stand out are the attention to detail in terms of the period setting, the costumes and the production design, as well as the cinematography including at least a few helicopter cam shots that capture the beauty of Africa in the same way that the opening sequence of the Sound of Music captured the beauty of Austria.
Dev is likable enough as the protagonist Shankar, although it is Gerard Rudolph who shines in the role of his buddy and mentor Alvares (except for the hideously accented Bengali that was hard to follow in some of the scenes). Among the things that work for the movie are the locations, the use of real animals (though an injured Shankar outrunning a lion was somewhat farcical), and the Bunip which is both fantastic and realistic. However, extremely shoddy editing affects the overall pace and flow of the movie and makes it longer by at least half an hour. (Probably a director's cut on DVD and Blu-Ray is in order, in the future.) Also in some scenes such as the volcano, the animation is amateurish to say the least - buying stock footage from Nat Geo for those would have been a cheaper and more effective solution.
The first half of the movie is also weakly directed as compared to the second - it was almost as if the director took time to find his feet. Anyway, I am nit-picking, and this movie does not deserve that. On the whole, it's one of the better ones to come out in recent times, and I do hope that the producers recover their cost so that more such movies get made - this is the most expensive Bengali movie ever, and it shows.
Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela (2013)
Not a bad watch if you suspend disbelief
Ram-Leela, SLB's take on Romeo and Juliet is opulent, extravagant and completely OTT. SLB follows in the footsteps of Baz Luhrman and Mansoor Khan by giving Shakespeare's classic play an interesting but not necessarily completely original spin, with the movie bearing a lot of resemblance in tone to Luhrman's movie starring Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Set in a small town in Gujarat, the India portrayed in the movie is completely unreal and gives the impression that complete lawlessness prevails and people can get away with murder in broad daylight and in front of scores, if not hundreds of witnesses. Also, the movie portrays women to be just as lustful, violent and dangerous as men, and while it is refreshing to finally find strong female characters who are in no way subservient to the male characters, it is a bit hard to believe considering that the movie is set in the hinterlands. I also missed the wide eyed innocence that was so much a part of both the Luhrman and Khan movies. But if you can suspend disbelief and go with the flow for the better part of two and a half hours, the movie will grow on you. This is because of strong performances by all the actors (especially Supriya Pathak) helped by brilliant cinematography and production design (every scene can be framed and hung on a wall). What the heck, you'll even get used to the melodrama which actually adds to the intensity of the film. If there is anything really off-putting, then it's the proliferation of songs - there's one every 10 minutes or so and you'll be hard pressed to recall a single one on stepping out of the theater. However, since this is an SLB film, such excess is quite understandable, though not entirely pardonable. Despite all its faults, the movie is still worth a watch. A better SLB film than most of his earlier ones, but still quite self-indulgent. Still...go see it.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
The more things change...
...the more they remain the same.
Star Trek-Into Darkness is the Superman Returns of the franchise. While it'll get very few marks for originality considering that its plot is a smörgåsbord of episodes and movies past, the movie chugs along at a blistering pace and is riveting and thrilling to boot. It helps that the actors have internalized the quirks and mannerisms of their original namesakes. A great watch for Trekkies like me but I'm not sure how much a first time viewer will like it or even BELIEVE a certain ridiculous plot twist adapted from an earlier movie. (Seriously! Out of all the plot twists out there they had to choose the weakest one?)Come to think of it the movie pays homage to more than one movie starring the original crew - saying more will be giving it away.
Nonetheless, J J Abrams manages to keep things interesting throughout and Benedict Cumberbatch owns the scene whenever he's on screen and makes an otherwise flimsy story work. The bromance between Quinto and Pine lends a much needed human (or is it Vulcan?) touch to the proceedings and prevents the film from degenerating into mindless action and set pieces. Too bad Abrams won't be returning for Episode 3 and will be concentrating on Episode 7 of another well known sci-fi movie series instead. Despite that, the franchise should live long and prosper if the new director builds on this movie and continues with the story arc. Despite its lack of originality it's still one of the better Star Trek movies to come out in recent times.