Change Your Image
akshay-ranganathan
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
24 (2016)
Could've been better
After a long time doing a movie review. Phew!!!!!!.......
And after taking a long time in production, here comes the most anticipated Tamil movie - "24". Unlike the American and Indian TV shows of the same names, "24" is a sci-fi action-adventure movie, with the usual ingredients of a regular Tamil commercial movie. Namely:- a) A charming protagonist b) A dim-witted damsel c) Twist in the story (actually a lot of twists in the story) d) Soulful music and Energetic BGM (though I miss the old A. R. Rahman I knew) e) Scintillating cinematography, beautiful locales and bright colours.
But the movie is not without its share of blemishes. And they're quite significant, which can never be ignored. But before I review this movie deeply (which includes spoilers), please read the synopsis.
Sethuraman (Suriya), a scientist and a watch company owner, has just completed his dream project called,"Project 24", which is - wait for it - a time-travelling watch. But his evil twin Athreya (Suriya) comes for 'his' watch, coincidentally on their (Sethuraman's and Athreya's) birthdays. In this process Athreya kills Sethuraman's wife (Nithya Menen), but Sethuraman saves his child and his invention, not without getting killed by his twin. Twenty six years later, Mani (Suriya) is a watch-mechanic, running his watch- repairing store, grew up with his foster-mother (Saranya Ponvannan), his goofy friend Saravanan (Sathyan) and a strange-looking wooden box. After a series of coincidences, Mani gets his hands on a strange-looking key, which unlocks the box and reveals the watch to him.
Mani uses this watch to play time-freezing and time-travelling, click a picture with M. S. Dhoni, make the Indian team win a cricket match, and convince the dim-witted damsel (Samantha) that she is suffering from 'Imaginoromansophilia', while wooing her. What happened to Athreya? Is he still alive? Will the watch take a toll on Mani's life and also on other's lives, which are connected to Mani? These questions are answered in the film "24".
Vikram K. Kumar, the man behind films like,"Yaavarum Nalam"/"13B", "Ishq" and "Manam", is back with an almost-disappointing-yet-entertaining screenplay. It is so, because there are a few contrivances regarding a few scenes and the sci-fi element of this film, like:- a) We see Samantha's character boarding a train to Chennai city, from a village, for studying. But we never see her studying even a page of a book, nor do we see her even entering a college.
b) Why can't we see a strong female character, apart from Nithya Menen's character (briefly)? Satyabhama (Samantha) was reduced to a dim-witted woman!
c) The songs look so forced in the narrative. They just act as beautiful fillers, because the songs, especially "Naan Un" and "Kalam En Kadhali", are melodious and are shot beautifully.
d) There are tons of cliché's and stereotypes, peppered with occasional misogyny.
e) The climax is quite satisfying, yet appears quite abrupt.
And so on.
Yet, I must confess, I, personally, really liked the whole movie. Each and every twist is so meticulously written, and every principal character is justified.
Screenplay (Vikram K. Kumar) was quite fast paced, despite the movie ticking 2 hours & 45 odd-minutes long. The story (Vikram K. Kumar), as I said, could've been dealt with more detail. The dialogues (Vikram K. Kumar) are a mixed bag. At times evocative, at times irritating and repetitive, at times appropriate.
Cinematography (S. Tirru) is, as I mentioned, scintillating. The Make-Up (Clover Wootton and Preetsheel G. Singh) deserve a special mention, especially for Athreya character's make-up. Convincing and just flawless.
Music (A. R. Rahman) is quite serviceable. But by Rahman's standards, it is quite disappointing. Only 2 songs were quite hummable, but are not quite memorable. Rest are just forgettable. Although, the BGM was quite evocative and lifts the mood of the scenes. The lyrics (Madhan Karky and Vairamuthu) are quite good, but not as good as their previous works. Though I must say "Kalam En Kadhali" by Vairamuthu suits each and every tune of the music provided. And "Naan Un" by Madhan Karky is quite romantic, and rendered as hauntingly melodious song by Mr. Rahman.
Editing (Prawin Pudi) could've been better. Had the film been trimmed by around 20-25 minutes, the impact of the film would've been better, as the songs, as mentioned above, play as a spoilsport in the narrative.
Stunts (Anbarivu) are choreographed as realistic as possible. Even the Dance Steps (Brinda, Raju Sundaram, Dinesh and Sridhar) are quite appreciable. Especially the dance steps in the song "Kalam En Kadhali", are quite apt.
The Art WorK (Amit Ray & Subrata Chakraborty) is just marvellous.
The Visual Effects (Julian Troussellier) are almost flawless, except for the concluding reels of the film, where the effects looked somewhat fake. The D.I. Colorist (Aashirwad Hadkar) deserves a special mention. Each frame looks great and rich in colours. My favourite one being the golden coloured frames, involving 2 Suriyas, one Nithya Menen and one Ajay, in both the initial and the concluding frames of the movie.
Off the cast, Suriya, playing triple roles, provided his career's best performance till date. He played the three different roles of Sethuraman, Athreya and Manikandan with utmost perfection. Nithya Menen, though appears for a short period, leaves an impact. Samantha's character is reduced to a cliché'd caricature, which Tamil movie audience is habituated to. So are Saranya's and Sathyan's characters. Mohan V. Raman is wasted, so is Girish Karnad, although Girish gets a chance to emote, in an otherwise thankless role. Ajay, who plays Athreya's right-hand-man Mithran, played to the gallery.
On the whole, as mentioned above, "24" could've been much better. Yet it is not totally bad. I give it a 7/10. Don't apply too much logic, and just flow with the tide.
Bãhubali: The Beginning (2015)
Derivative, yet entertaining, with the romantic angle being the weakest link of the film.
The wait is over, 'Baahubali - The Beginning' has arrived. The most expensive Indian movie till date, made on around a whopping 3 billion rupees, has just got it's 1st part released. Yes folks, the 1st part, because the 2nd part will release by next year. The movie has almost everything in it's favour, a stellar star-cast (all Telugu cast members), National-Award winning technicians (Art Director - Sabu Cyril, Visual Effects Supervisor - V. Srinivas Mohan, Master Story Teller - S. S. Rajamouli), Bollywood's respected and esteemed production and distribution company, Dharma Productions of Karan Johar, distributing it, and moreover, the movie's director S. S. Rajamouli is known for his 100% successful Telugu cinema career, with no flop movie in his resume.
The synopsis goes like this. Smuggled as an infant from the kingdom Maahishmati, to a tribal area, Shiva/Shivudu ('Rebel Star' Prabhas) does not grow up as an ordinary man. He becomes a beefier version of Tarzan, with enough strong a torso and hands, to carry a humongous Shiva-ling, to bring it under the waterfall. Not only that, he even has those Tarzan like physical and personality traits, like being free-spirited, having a devil-may-care attitude, climbing and scaling heights, which no ordinary man could do so, without the knowledge of his actual lineage. After many unsuccessful attempts, he finally climbs up above the waterfall, even though his step-mother had advised that there are ghosts, who will rip him apart and eat him. Soon enough, he falls in love with a milky- white beauty, Avanthika (Tamannaaah), who is actually a member of a rebel group.
Avanthika then takes Shiva/Shivudu to his actual destiny, which is beyond the walls of Maahishmati kingdom. There we get to see a 50- foot golden statue of the antagonist Bhallal Dev/Bhallala Dheva (Rana Daggubati), who snatched the throne of the real king ('Rebel Star' Prabhas again). There we get introduced to characters like Devasena (Anushka Shetty, in a 'Karan-Arjun' Rakhee's getup), who is now the former-queen of Maahishmati, now chained by the villain and his men. Also we have the loyal commander-in-chief of the Maahishmati army, Kattappa (Sathyaraj, remember the father of Deepika's character in that god-awful Rohit Shetty movie 'Chennai Express'), the current king's ill-advising and indulgent father, Bijjala Deva (Nasser), his authoritative wife Sivagami (Ramya Krishna) and last but not the least, Amarendra Baahubali ('Rebel Star' Prabhas).
Well, it's a known fact that writer-director S. S. Rajamouli is more of a visual-storyteller, instead of a regular movie director, and his latest movie, 'Baahubali - The Beginning' cements the fact. Each and every frame looked vibrant, colourful, with the right mix of colours as per the scene's mood. Also, the niftily designed set- pieces and almost flawless CGI acts as the icing on the cake. Take a bow, Mr. Rajamouli. Yes, the movie is not without its share of flaws, like the snow-avalanche scene, in which the avalanche looked glaringly fake and poorly rendered, the most weird and hard-to- digest romantic track between Avanthika and Shiva/Shivudu (as mentioned above). Moreover, there are lots of elements in this movie, which are inspired from the west, like the design of the kingdom, which is inspired from 'The Lord Of The Rings' franchise, and even the 'Game Of Thrones' series, the fictional tribal language inspired from Mel Gibson's directorial 'Apocalypto' and from 'Game Of Thrones' again, as well as the 20-25 minute long battle sequence in the finale, is inspired from films like 'Mongol', 'Lord Of The Rings', 'Game Of Thrones', 'Troy', 'Alexander', 'Braveheart', and the Tamil film 'Aayirathil Oruvan'. Even the movie feels being over- the-top, since most South Indian movies are made like that. But you get engaged to it. That's the likable factor of 'Baahubali'.
Still, one cannot deny that each actor makes an appearance, as if waiting for wolf-whistles and claps and even pure outrageous hooting and cheering, the set pieces, art-work and the special effects are almost flawless, also the finale battle sequence leaves you exhausted for good as well as for bad. For good, because it's pace is frenetic and is well choreographed. For bad, because few people might lose interest in this movie, just for the sake of this oh- darn-long battle scene. The film concludes with a cliffhanger ending, making the room for its sequel. Let's see what happens in it.
Off the crew, the story (V. Vijayendra Prasad) is not new, but the screenplay (Rahul Koda, and V. Vijayendra Prasad) is quite fast paced. This movie introduces in one of the scenes, a fictitious language called, 'Kiliki' (take that Dothraki lovers). Also it combines, with dexterity, modern VFX with old-school palace politics. Dialogues, are mostly good, but gets weird and bizarre during the romantic moments between Avanthika and Shiva/Shivudu. Cinematography (K. K. Senthil Kumar) is just scintillating. Music (M. M. Keeravani) is soulful, melodious and a treat for music connoisseurs, especially the English song composed by the composer himself, as well as the background score. The lyrics are mostly nonsensical, since I only saw the Hindi-dubbed version of this movie. Stunts (Peter Hein) are well-choreographed and energetic. Visual effects (V. Srinivas Mohan) are spell-binding. Art-work (Sabu Cyril) is a sight for sore eyes. Each and every team member of this film have put their best foot forward in making it a visual treat. It is a wonderful film by Mr. Rajamouli, but not the best though.
Off the cast, everybody acted well, especially Prabhas. Moreover he has some Rajinikanth-like charisma to his on-screen personality. His beefed-up physique and tree-trunk like muscles do the most of the talking, in the movie. The same goes for Rana Daggubati. He also has a strong screen-presence.
On the whole, aside from a few blemishes, 'Baahubali - The Beginning' is a visual treat. I feel proud to be an Indian. Jai Hind!
Welcome to Karachi (2015)
This film overstays its welcome
After 'Youngistaan', where we discovered the actual acting chops from Jackky Bhagnani, he decided to experiment with the most difficult genre ever, and that is 'Comedy'. Well experimenting is not bad, if the screenplay evokes laughter in the audience, tickles their funny bone, till they die laughing. But you'll get to know about the result of the movie, 'Welcome 2 Karachi', which is by the way the second pairing of Arshad-Jackky duo and second directorial of 'Khiladi 786' fame Ashish R. Mohan.
The plot being inspired from 'Harold & Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay' and the gags inspired from 'Dumb & Dumber', the film is about the two dimwits (Jackky Bhagnani & Arshad Warsi), who try to go to the United States of America, using the sea-route, illegally, after the former one (Jackky) being repeatedly denied visa by the American Embassy, and the latter one (Arshad) being sacked from his Naval- officer duty. Due to a storm on the sea, the boat lands on the shores of Pakistan. What follows from here is chaos, chaos and nothing but chaos.
The plot had so much potential, but the writers (Vrajesh Hirjee, Ashish R. Mohan, Kushal Ved Bakshi and Danish Hussain) clearly rely on juvenile jokes, from the ones involving fart to the word f****r, which sparsely evokes giggles. And they are often repeated. The 'ban' joke, as well as the fake Muslim names by the protagonists were quite hilarious, these scenes left me in splits, but before and after that, each and every one-liner or a gag left me giggled or were just unfunny. Direction (Ashish R. Mohan) focuses on action scenes more than the comedic moments. Moreover, the second half is more unfunny than the first one, and on top of that the shoddy VFX plays a spoilsport. Music (Jeet Ganguly, Rochak Kohli and Amjad Nadeem) is just ignorable, except for 'Chal Bhaag', which justifies one of the situations of the film. Background score is just plain average. Editing (Steven Bernard) is disappointingly average, from the master editor of many Rohit Shetty movies. Cinematography (Mark Nutkins) is again, average. Choreography (Bosco-Caesar, F. A. Khan and Brinda) is nothing special.
Off the cast, Jackky Bhagnani stereotypes Gujaratis badly. He evokes sparse giggles, yes, but this time he hams, instead of acting. Arshad Warsi, though tried to carry the whole movie on his shoulders, was badly wasted, so was Lauren Gottlieb. Rest of the cast just overact a lot.
On the whole, 'Welcome 2 Karachi' just overstays its welcome. After a promising trailer, we thought it might tickle our funny bone for good, but, it left us disappointed and cheated. It is not another 'Filmistaan' or another 'Tere Bin Laden'. It's just plain boring, though intermittently funny. I go with a three out of ten rating.
Gabbar Is Back (2015)
Preachy yet fun, better than 'Ungli'
If one may recall (not necessarily though) last year 'Ungli' tackled the been-there-done-that theme of one man/group standing up against corruption. Idea was a swell one, but due to poor presentation and lazy writing, it bombed badly at the box office. Now, this year, Akshay Kumar comes up with another movie, based on this very theme, called 'Gabbar Is Back'. Not only is it a remake of the Tamil blockbuster movie 'Ramannaa', starring Vijaykanth, but Akshay Kumar's latest flick, though is preachy, yet provides you amples of entertainment. This is the only Akshay Kumar movie, which is an entertaining remake of a South-Indian movie. Last year he came up with a South-Indian movie remake called 'Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty', which had left a bad after effect on my mind.
Without further yak-yak, let's analyse the plot. The film starts off with the very righteous man Professor Aditya (Akshay Kumar) and his tryst with corruption. He is on a mission to infuse a sense of purpose and hope amongst his students in 'National College', the place where he teaches the five elements of survival, in both, theory as well as practicals! Besides being a professor, he is also a vigilante who functions under the name of 'Gabbar'. He and his team inject fear amidst the corrupt officers. The main mission of his team is to eliminate the corrupt individuals, from all the spheres of life, but... in a systematic manner. When he's not bashing up the bad guys, Prof. Aditya also finds time to go on coffee dates with Devaki (Shruti Haasan). There is also a back story of Aditya that finds him romancing his wife (Kareena Kapoor Khan in a cameo) and how tragedy strikes him, courtesy industrialist Digvijay Patil (Suman Talwar). While the laidback police officials are unable to nab Gabbar, it takes an enterprising 'English speaking' constable Sadhu (Sunil Grover) to get the vital clues and leads about the whereabouts of Gabbar and his team. The only problem with Sadhu is that, because he is a 'driver', none of his superiors take him seriously and always belittle him. Amidst all this, when the police and the government land up in a very tight spot because of their inability to nab Gabbar, they hire a razor-sharp topcop, who vows to nab Gabbar at any cost. And when he sees Sadhu's clues of nabbing Gabbar, he immediately offers him all the support that he needs. Do the police and government ever get to know the real 'Gabbar', do they decipher the reason behind these killings, will Sadhu land up playing a spoilsport in Gabbar's master plans or does Gabbar who has been exposing the corrupt, will himself come out before everyone and 'expose' himself... is what forms the rest of the film.
Well, even though Krish is making his debut in Bollywood, with 'Gabbar Is Back', it's not an over-statement to say that he has remade the original Tamil movie, originally written and directed by A. R Murugadoss ('Ghajini', 'Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty' fame), with dexterity. After analysing his career as a director in Telugu movie Industry, with commercial success like 'Gamyam' and the critically acclaimed 'Vedam', this cements the fact that, when it comes to movie-making, he means business. Hats off to you Krish.
Off the crew, as stated the story (originally by A. R. Murugadoss) is nothing new. But the fast-paced-screenplay and Gabbar Singh-laden dialogues (written by Rajat Arora) add life to this story. Often it becomes preachy, as mentioned above, especially in scenes where Akshay Kumar's character gives lectures. But not only it entertains us for most of the part, it also pays homage to the original Gabbar Singh, whom we miss the most (thanks to those dialogues, originally mouthed by the real Gabbar Singh - late Amjad Khan). There are a few blemishes, and I would like to mention that the villain's characterization is similar to that of those Villainous characters portrayed by Prakash Raj. He looks ferocious in the beginning, ends up as a cat, especially in the climax.
Please future Bollywood screenwriters, focus on maintaining the consistency of the villain's character, in the movies.
Moreover, the direction (Krish) is first rate. Cinematography (Nirav Shah) is adequate. Music (Sandeep Chowta) is just forgettable. Background Score (Amar Mohile) is pulsating. Editing (Rajesh Pandey) is at times loose, due to those dragging songs. Costumes (Rick Roy, Garvita Bhatia) are authentic. Stunts (Stun Shiva) are over-the-top. Visual Effects (Reliance Media Works) is adequate.
Off the cast, Kareena Kapoor Khan leaves a lasting impression, in a brief cameo. Shruti Haassan is at her usual best, portraying a birdbrained-bimbo. Suman Talwar has a Prakash Raj-like Déjà-vu to his acting skills. Chitrangada Singh looks gorgeous, in an item number. Nikitin Dheer, Jaideep Ahlawat, Sunil Grover and Govind Namdeo gave their best. But, it's undoubtedly Akshay Kumar, who steals the show away, with his power-wala performance.
I rate this a 6/10. Had the screenplay been a bit faster, and avoided the preachy tone, and the unwanted songs, it could've been better. But since it is not entirely bad, it's just a one-time watch. Don't expect it to linger in your memories for long.
Mr. X (2015)
And I thought 'Creature 3D' was bad.
How to start reviewing this mess of a movie? I really do not have any idea, folks! This is so appallingly bad, that even 'Creature 3D' looks like 'Jurassic Park' in comparison. Shoddy VFX, unintentionally funny scenes, lazily scripted movie, and many things are going bad for this movie.
If you all think that being derivative is a problem, then you all are wrong, as even though a movie like 'Kick', though a remake of the original Telugu movie, 'Kick', had provided better entertainment than this. Mr. Vikram Bhatt, we all know about your obsession for 3D technology and VFX nowadays, but they are like confetti, increases the visual appeal of the movie. But the backbone of the movie is the story/screenplay, which in this case, is just lazily written and disengages the audience. Better improve this time, Vikram.
Yes, I do agree that 'Mr. X' is derived from 'Mr. X'(1957 film), 'Mr. India' (1987 film) and 'Hollow Man'(2000 film), and its a bad amalgamation of these films too. So sad to even state that it had lots of potential.
Without further speech, let's dive into the synopsis. Hashmi's character, Raghu, an officer in the Mumbai anti-terrorism squad, survives a deadly attack on his life in a chemical factory by his corrupt boss (Arunoday Singh). Severely disfigured, Raghu is 'saved' by a helpful scientist who offers him an anti-radiation drug still in the testing stage that instantly results in complete cell regeneration, but also turns him invisible except in direct sunlight and in blue lighting. It's the kind of bunkum that's impossible to logically explain. Even Bhatt knows that; he gets the scientist to quickly declare it a miracle of god: "The more science knows, the more it realizes it knows nothing." Raghu, who now rechristens himself Mr X, decides to use these new 'powers' to seek revenge on his offenders. Meanwhile his fiancée (Amyra Dastur), a fellow officer in the ATS, literally "sniffs" out the fact that Raghu is Mr X, and convinced that he has gone rogue, becomes obsessed with stopping him in his blood-thirsty mission.
Off the crew, story (Vikram Bhatt) had potential, but is just screwed by its lazily written screenplay (Vikram Bhatt), as mentioned above. And, it even has continuity errors. For example, the story is set in Mumbai, but the chase scenes, and other action sequences are clearly shot somewhere in the foreign. Dialogues (Shagufta Rafique) are at times clap-worthy, at times unintentionally funny. Overall inconsistent. VFX (K. V. Sanjit) is at times outlandish and tacky. Music (Ankit Tiwari, Jeet Ganguly) is not memorable, too bad for an Emraan Hashmi/Vikram Bhatt/Mahesh Bhatt movie. The background score (Raju Singh) is captivating, though. Cinematography (Pravin Bhatt) is beautiful. Stunts (Dan Hirst) often look labored and fake. Moreover, audience gets disengaged further, due to badly conceived stunts.
Off the cast, Emraan Hashmi looked bored and restrained. Amyra Dastur has improved considerably, after her flop debut 'Issaq'. Arunoday Singh looked awkward, too bad for a villain. Nora Fatehi is just ignorable. Tanmay Bhatt hammed. Rest of the cast didn't act well.
Overall, 'Mr. X' is for those, who want to be sarcastically entertained. It will provide you unintentional laughs, guaranteed.
Fast & Furious 7 (2015)
Flawed yet entertaining, as well as the best and the last of Paul Walker
So guys, 'Furious 7' may/may not be the last of this movie series, but it is surely the last of Paul Walker, one of the leading guys who rose to fame due to this illegal street-racing movie franchise, which slowly turned into a high-octane action-thriller ride. All thanks to not just the stellar star cast of names like Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, to name a few, but even to directors like Justin Lin, who had re-invented the series from a campy illegal street- racing action movie, to a action-thriller series. Moreover, director James Wan ('Saw' and 'Insidious' fame) has pushed the envelope, drastically, with this latest entry in this over-the-top car-tossing franchise. Let's analyse.
After finding out that Owen Shaw is into a comatose stage in the previous installment, his brother (Jason Statham) threatens Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his 'family', for extracting revenge against him. A clandestine government operative (Kurt Russel) offers to help Dom track down Shaw in exchange for recovering a coveted surveillance device that has fallen into the hands of terrorists. It's a plot that sends our heroes shuttling between Los Angeles, Tokyo, the Dominican Republic, the Caucasus mountains, and Abu Dhabi, with the wall-to- wall action pausing only long enough for Tyrese Gibson to crack a sexist joke, or for Dom to continue to woo Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) who's still suffering from amnesia. There's a terrific, jaw-dropping set piece in the Middle East where Diesel and Paul Walker's characters drive a sports car off a skyscraper into another one ... and another one! It's preposterous, but that's exactly what makes it so much fun.
The same can't be said for the film's overlong climax on the mean streets of LA, packed with helicopters, drone strikes, car chases and some good ol' fashioned one-on-one combat. My head was throbbing through this frantically edited 20-minute showdown, which felt excessive and mind-numbing, and only worsened by the pointless 3D. Of the cast, Dwayne Johnson returns as the rough-and-ready Agent Hobbs, although he spends much of the film wisecracking in a hospital bed, after a duel with Shaw leaves him battered. Jason Statham is nicely menacing as the chief villain, proving a worthy adversary to our beefed up heroes. Bollywood up-and-comer Ali Fazal gets a two-scene cameo as a Middle Eastern fixer, and he does a good job with the comic accent. But it's Vin Diesel in the central role that the spotlight remains firmly fixed on. He's typically stone- faced yet charismatic, and you still want to chuckle each time he bandies on about the importance of family.
What really separates the new film from its predecessors is its emotional depth; the knowledge that this is Paul Walker's last turn as Brian O'Conner. Despite his tragic death midway through production, Walker remains a key figure in the film, thanks to the clever use of body doubles and nifty CGI effects. It's hard not to get at least a little misty-eyed during the touching finale in which his character is given a fitting sendoff. Who'd have thought we'd leave a Fast & Furious film surrounded by mournful silence?
Even though it's all preposterous and over-the-top, you still relish it, like trusted comfort food, you're happy to tuck into it knowing full well it has no nutritional value. I give this an 8/10. Without the pointless 3D, the car sequences were enthralling and Paul Walker looked gorgeous, even though for the last time. But anyway, R. I. P. Paul, we'll miss ya.
Badlapur (2015)
BADLAPUR - The better work from ace director Sriram, after 'Agent Vinod'
I get intrigued, rather than surprised, when a Sriram Raghavan film is announced. Because, his films have more human-like characters, rather than caricaturish, and have mostly grey-shaded character, unlike most of the movies having black-and/or-white characters.
Everybody, even the protagonist, make some mistakes, in the world of Sriram Raghavan. Witnessed already in films like 'Ek Hasina Thi' and 'Johnny Gaddaar', it is also witnessed in 'Badlapur'.
As the name suggests, it is a revenge-drama. But like last year's movie 'Ek Villain', this movie is more subtle and psychologically- impactful, rather than being a regular action-movie. That is what is expected from a Sriram Raghavan movie. And he delivers it with panache, but still we feel that he has done better films than this. Don't worry, it's not that all bad.
Without further talking, let's roll in the synopsis. Raghav alias Raghu(Varun Dhawan) is an advertising executive with a picture perfect life that is savaged unexpectedly when his wife (Yami Gautam) and son encounter the bank robber Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Two things appear to be constant over the next 15 years: Raghu's violent grief and Liak's sly cheekiness.
However, there are actually many twists in this tale. Whether it's the prostitute Jhimli (Huma Qureshi) or the inspector in charge of Liak's case (Kumud Mishra), no one in Badlapur is quite what they seem. The two exceptions are Yami Gautam and Radhika Apte's characters. They're the two good wives of Badlapur and both pay dearly for their untwisted simplicity. It's interesting that both of them do what they do selflessly, in order to protect the ones they love — one tries to protect her son; the other, her husband. But in face of the adrenaline rush of violence, their love stands no chance.
It's dark, it's brutal, it's also inspired from a real-life incident, but hey, it's not a gore-fest, Hallelujah on that. Violence is more economically used in the film, to show the impact of the scene, without being blunt in the approach.
The story-screenplay(Arijit Biswas, Sriram Raghavan) is near- perfect. Because it has some blemishes, like being misogynistic on portrayal of women, some contrivances in the plot, and an underwhelming-but-satisfying climax. But hey, it is for most of the movie, pure fun.
The dialogues(Arijit Biswas, Sriram Raghavan) are quite dark, tongue-in-cheek, and has some moments of dark humour. Direction(Sriram Raghavan) at times drags, but is otherwise, fast- paced. Editing(Pooja Ladha Surti) is crisp. Music(Sachin-Jigar) not only is a hit, but also plays well to the gallery. My personal favourites are 'Jee Karda' and 'Jeena Jeena'. Cinematography(Anil Mehta) is quite impactfully dark, for such a movie. Suits for the mood of the film
Off the cast, the best performance is by none other than Varun Dhawan. He sank his teeth into the character, quite well, and looks convincing as the revenge-seething Raghu. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has always provided his best, and here too he does the same. The leading ladies, Yami Gautam(Raghu's Wife) and Radhika Apte(Harman's Wife) look convincing, though their scope is limited. Huma Qureshi looked raunchy. Divya Dutta has put her best foot forward, in terms of acting. Vinay Pathak is back, in his darkest best, after 'Johnny Gaddaar'. Rest of the cast acted very well.
On the whole, 'Badlapur' is a film to be given a chance. Because such films are rarely or never made, especially in Bollywood, in a long time.
Roy (2015)
ROY - A snooze-fest in the name of a thriller
Do you all remember a topper in your school-life, who never gave straight answers. The one, who used to convolute simple answers to simple questions. Vikramjit Singh, the debutante director, is one such person, who thinks he is smart, ends up complicating his own so- called swell idea, called, "Roy". It is so bizarre, random and so damn convoluted, even the leading hero of the movie, Arjun Rampal, says,"Pata nahin. Yeh film kaise bani"(I'm clueless about how this film was made). You're not alone, Arjun, as we are thinking that way too. But most of all, I pity Ranbir Kapoor to choose such a convoluted script.
Let's roll-in the synopsis. A maverick-cum-casanova filmmaker, Kabir Grewal(Arjun Rampal) is on the way to make a film on the art-thief called,"Roy". And for his movie, he flies off to Malaysia. There he meets the pink-lipped-Anglo-Indian filmmaker, Ayesha Aamir(Jacqueline Fernandez), and eventually, after continuous repeated meetings, she becomes his muse. In parallel to this story, a scintillating chemistry develops between a tourist, Roy(Ranbir Kapoor) and the red-lipped-beauty, Tia(Jacqueline Fernandez). Who is Tia? Will Ayesha be able to reciprocate Kabir's feelings for her? Who is Roy? What is/was he actually? How did he disappear? Find out by watching,"Roy".
The subject chosen by the movie's writer-director, Vikramjit Singh, looks and sounds good on paper. But, and that is quite a big,'but', when it comes to execution(read, the final print), it appears so random, convoluted. Yet, it is quite sleek and classy. But, in a nutshell, it is a box-full-of-nuts, packaged as a box-full-of- chocolates. So sad, isn't it?
As mentioned before, the story looks good on paper, but the screenplay and dialogues are so abysmally random(all written by Vikramjit Singh). The direction is no different(Vikramjit Singh). Music(Amal Mallik) is already a hit. It gels with the situations of the film, very well. Cinematography(Himman Dhamija) is colorful & vivid, and at the same time viscerally dark. Thereby, it sets the mood for the movie right, though it is not a thriller. Because, actually, it is a romantic movie, having the mood of a psychological-thriller. Artwork(Shraddha Johri) looks realistic.
Off the cast, Ranbir Kapoor, as mentioned above, is wasted. Arjun Rampal, for most of the time, looked sleepy and clueless. Jacqueline could not speak Hindi, but is forced to do so, thereby making her discomforted. Rest of the cast have almost nothing to do, especially Anupam Kher.
On the whole, "Roy" is for those people, who have nothing to do to kill time. Watch it, and it also acts as a cure for insomnia. I guarantee you all.
PK (2014)
The best of Raju Hirani, Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma
After a long string of flops this year, here comes a relief of a film, called,"PK". After directing the film, which delivered a well-aimed kick in the pants to our myopic, rote-learning education system, "3 Idiots", here comes another dish from the master chef (read:- another film from the master director), Rajkumar Hirani. After 5 years in the making, "PK" finally released in the theatres a week ago. Let's analyse how good the film would be!
The film starts off with PK (Aamir Khan), an alien, landing on earth, in the desert of Rajasthan, to study about human begins and life on earth. Arriving stark naked on a earth, PK has a rough start on the planet when his tracking remote, that helps him send signals back to his spaceship, gets stolen. He now has to find the remote to contact his spaceship and till then survive on earth on his own. Unaware of human mannerisms, language or life in general on earth, PK finds it difficult to adjust. However, fate brings him in touch with Bhairav Singh (Sanjay Dutt) who becomes his dear friend and helps him with life on earth.
But destiny takes PK to Delhi. From here on starts a whirlwind story of a stranger in the unknown city of Delhi asking questions that despite their innocence hold a valuable and deep meaning. Aided on by Jagat Janani (Anushka Sharma) who teams up with him on this journey, PK challenges some of the oldest rituals of religion that are ruling life of people on earth.
First of all, though tackled in Umesh Shukla's film,"OMG - Oh My God", the issue still is quite prevalent and debatable, and that is the issue of our 'blind-faith' on God. Skilfully adding humour to the narrative, this issue is tackled by 'an outsider'. The one, who does not belong to our planet. Raju Hirani scores brownie points on this one. But, the only complaint against the movie is that the romantic angle (Sushant Singh Rajput and Anushka Sharma) is not well-developed. Moreover, some scenes were ended abruptly. But these blemishes are not so significant to affect the narrative.
The story-screenplay (Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi) is skilfully written and structured, though at places flawed. Dialogues (Sreerag Nambiar) are mostly Bhojpuri-laden, mostly spoken by the titular character (played by Aamir Khan). It might become a bit undecipherable, for those who are not familiar with this language. But otherwise, they are witty.
Of the cast, Aamir Khan has really got some 'balls' for going nude for a scene. Aamir never ever disappoints, in terms of performance. This time too he didn't disappoint. He sinks his teeth into the character quite well, and asks such innocent questions, regarding the religion we obsess for, which might sound, or look, stingy. Saurabh Shukla, as the smarmy Godman excels. Anushka Sharma as Jaggu, the news reporter with a Bob-hairdo, acts well. Sushant is just sidelined. Rest of the cast do well.
On the whole, "PK" might offend those, who will take the issue, tackled in the movie, seriously. Otherwise, it is one of the best films of 2014. Sorry for reviewing this movie, 8 days after its release. But I'll be back, and review for the espionage-action movie, "Baby", starring Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Anupam Kher, Rana Daggubati and Danny Denzongpa, among others. See you all on that day, till then belated merry Christmas and in advance a very Happy New Year.
Action Jackson (2014)
Regressive, stupid and migraine-inducing.
Prabhu Deva, whom I admired a lot as the ace dancer of the world, after Michael Jackson, has come back as a director with another film called 'Action Jackson'. Wonder why you ask, it is because of two reasons:- 1) Ajay Devgn is playing the titular character, and 2) It has loads of action (evident from the trailers itself) and the cast of the movie dance like Jackson (I couldn't witness that in the 3-hours of migraine-inducing movie, though)
Without further yak-yak, let's analyze the plot. The film starts off with the entry of Vishy (Ajay Devgn) in his regular fashion that's combined with élan and style. For reasons unexplained till almost the interval, Vishy is at the target point of many goons who follow him left, right and center to bump him off. As if this wasn't enough, there comes Khushi (Sonakshi Sinha) who 'experiences good luck' in succession after seeing Vishy 'family jewels'. With this, Vishy adds one more 'stalker' to his list! It's only towards the interval that the audiences get to know that Vishy has a doppelganger by the name of 'AJ', who by profession is a killer. And then it becomes clear that the goons actually mistook Vishy to be AJ and hence followed him everywhere. And when AJ and Vishy meet, the former explains the reason to the latter and his friend (Kunaal Roy Kapur) that since he refused to marry the dreaded goon and mafia kingpin Xavier (Anand Raj)'s highly obsessed sister Marina (debutante Manasvi Mamgai), the goons are out to kill him and the love of his life Anusha (Yami Gautam). Tracking down AJ in India, Xavier sends his henchmen to India to kill AJ, which is when AJ devises a plot with the help of Vishy to destroy Xavier and his crazy sister Marina and protect his wife and new born baby.
Does the simple man Vishy say yes to be a part of this risk taking plan and go to meet Marina in a foreign country, does the dreaded villain Xavier get to know about the plan of the duo, does AJ get to save the love of his life and does Khushi become truly lucky and unite with Vishy again is what forms the rest of the story.
After directing the intermittenly likable 'Wanted', quite forgivable 'Rowdy Rathore', chirpy-sweet-old-fashioned 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya', regressive and stupid 'R... Rajkumar', Prabhu Deva has dished out yet another regressive and migraine-inducing 'Action Jackson'. For all the reasons, this film will surely be banned, if there are sensible people to do so. For the reasons are:- a) Which educated woman on this world will find a man's crotch lucky for her career and her life. Women council, please take some 'action' against this movie. b) Why should we get awestruck by a kid who asks,'how many alphabets are there in English language'. Suckers would get awestruck, not me. And for information, there is just one alphabets, which has 26 letters to it. c) And there is a lady (debutante Manasvi Mamgai) who removes her shirt at the drop of a hat. What are you, lady Salman Khan? At least Ajay Devgn has a legit reason for stripping, as he has developed his abs, you don't even have that! d) Which girl on Earth would tolerate all the atrocities of the hero, including him abusing her house, and still love her? Is she a slut? And the list goes on, and on, and on.
I have no problem with the film insulting our intelligence, even most of the Salman Khan starrers have committed such a sin, and I forgave these films. But what is appalling that women, in this movie, are portrayed as bimbos-with-a-tinge-of-slutty-attitude. This is the second movie after 'R... Rajkumar', where women are portrayed like this.
Story-screenplay (A. C. Mughil, Prabhu Deva) is non-existent. Dialogues (Shiraz Ahmed) are abysmal. Cinematography (Vijay Kumar Arora, R. D. Rajashekhar) is jarring and shaky. VFX (Prime Focus World) is laughable and non-sensical. Editing (Bunty Nagi) is choppy and lacks cohesion. Stunts (Ravi Varma) are non-sensical. Music (Himesh Reshammiya) is just forgettable. Choreography (Vishnu Deva, U. Jogasekhar, VJ Sekhar) is just appallingly atrocious.
Of the cast, no one acted well, especially Yami Gautam and Ajay Devgn.
On the whole, 'Action Jackson' is for those who swear by entertainers like those stupid 80's South-Indian movies or those stupid 80's movies of Bollywood or movies like 'R... Rajkumar'. Please avoid it.
Rang Rasiya (2008)
This art-centric biopic is artistic, erotic and engaging
Biopics have been made in Bollywood, but on an artist is for the first time. Directed by Ketan Mehta, way back in 2008, 'Rang Rasiya' finally gets released in India.
Ketan Mehta, the man behind films like 'Sardar', 'Mangal Pandey: The Rising', 'Mirch Masala' and so on, has made another biopic. After having a good time at The Times BFI London Film Festival, finally we get to see the movie. Let's analyze how good is it?
Raja Ravi Varma (Randeep Hooda) is an artist for whom painting is worship. When he marries the princess of Kerala (Tripta Parashar), he decides to paint his wife as an inspiration. But when she demeans the art form and shoos him away, he decides to look for beauty beyond and finds it in Kamini (Rashanaa Shah), one of the servants in the palace. While she inspires him to paint one of the masterpieces that is responsible for him to win the title 'Raja' from the King of Travancore, the death of this old king leaves Ravi Varma shattered and he decides to shift base to Mumbai where he attempts to rediscover the love for art. So when he meets the gorgeous Suganda (Nandana Sen) in a temple, she becomes his inspiration for his future works. In an attempt to impress his biggest patron, the Raja of Baroda (Sameer Dharmadikari), Ravi Varma undertakes the task of showcasing Indian culture through the language of art with his paintings. While his paintings become available to the common man, the 'so called' guardians of the Hindu culture raise objection and Ravi Varma is arrested for using human face for God and also for portraying aesthetic art through nudity.
The story-screenplay (Ranjit Desai (based on his novel, 'Raja Ravi Varma'), Ketan Mehta, Sanjeev Dutta) has the artistic aesthetics to it. The final print too looks arty but mostly targets the snooty- class of audience, which I belong to, and it does not appeal to everybody. Music (Sandesh Shandilya) is quite melodious, but forgettable. The BGM is noteworthy though. Cinematography (Christo Bakalov) is mesmerising. Each frame looks alive and artistic. Direction (Ketan Mehta) is quite good too, but the ending is quite abrupt. Editing (Yves Beloniak, Pratik Chitalia) is quite apt. Stunts (M. E. Nigade) are well-coordinated. But the best parts aspects of the film are the costumes (Anurag, Niharika Khan), art work and the paintings. All of these look authentic.
Of the cast, Randeep Hooda steals the show. His chemistry with Nandana Sen is sensuous. Rest of the cast act with sincerity.
'Rang Rasiya', is a perfect example of a classy biopic on an artist, forgotten by the History. But the problem is it does not appeal to everyone's taste, unlike 'Jodhaa Akbar', directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Go to your nearest theatre to witness this artistic movie.
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is undoubtedly ambitious, but....
Christopher Nolan, one of my favorite directors, who not only made movies, but also made us experience something unique, through his movies. Due to which, he had subsequently built up a good rapport, and a brand of his name. Whenever a movie is associated with his name, audience expects something unique out of him, for which he had never disappointed his fans and audience. Be it 'Memento', or 'The Prestige', or 'The Dark Knight' trilogy, or even 'Inception', he always ensured that the audience experiences something new. His latest outing, 'Interstellar' is still being the talk of the town, for all the good reasons, like:- a) A stellar ensemble cast of names like Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Michael Caine for starters b) A brand called Christopher Nolan c) All those oh-so-intriguing trailers d) Hans Zimmer's moving soundtrack e) Beautiful production values, thanks to Syncopy, Legendary Pictures and Lynda Obst Productions, & presented by Warner Bros. Pictures(various territories) and Paramount Pictures(North America) And so on.
'Interstellar', from its trailers itself, is about mankind's space travel for a new Earth. But here, since it is a Christopher Nolan movie, you do not expect a regular cheesy-cum-cliché' ridden average Hollywood sci-fi movie, do you?
I am not going to write down the synopsis as a spoiler, but I can write about how good the movie is, again without spoilers. The story-screenplay-dialogues(Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan) look good on paper, but lacks enough meat, on its final print. The direction(Christopher Nolan) nevertheless holds your attention, till the last reel. But the best factors about the movie are the performances of the stellar cast(especially Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway's), as well as the visually appealing visual-effects, as well as the scintillating cinematography. These are the things that stay with you, after the show.
Though 'Interstellar' lacks meat in its screenplay, I rated it a perfect 10, because:- a) Of the captivating performances of the star cast (5 stars) b) Visually appealing visual-effects (2 stars) c) Scintillating Cinematography (2 stars) d) The brand called Christopher Nolan (1 star) I hope something better comes out of Chistopher, next time.
Happy New Year (2014)
The worst heist movie ever
Farah Khan, known for choreographing many actors, in n-number of films, for the kind of weight she carries, and also had choreographed the International Popstar Shakira, had tried her hand in direction, through her first film, 'Main Hoon Na' (translation:- I am here, friend). Since then she didn't look back, and went on directing films like, 'Om Shanti Om' (translation:- Solemn affirmation, peace and solemn affirmation) and 'Tees Maar Khan' (translation:- Heroic character). Except for 'Tees Maar Khan', every film, of hers, managed to do well at the box- office, though they did not manage to please the discerning movie-goers, like me. But anyway, after a gap of like 3-4 years, Farah Khan is back with yet another offering, called 'Happy New Year' (translation:- Happy New Year, 'duh').
Charlie(Shah Rukh Khan, generated the 10(or 8 or whatever the number may be, I don't care)-pack-abs, with the help of steroids) is a Boston University Grad, who makes his living by wrestling. Moreover he can speak Korean with fluency (I wonder are there such wrestlers in India, forget about the world). Anyway, when he gets to know about his arch-rival, Charan Grover(Jackie Shroff, with his oh-so- menacing looks and the salt-n-pepper hairdo) being the guardian of the diamonds, for he has a slick safe and the best security arrangement for the safe, Charlie assembles a team, and its members are Nandu Bhide(Abhishek Bachchan, in such an awfully thankless role) the loud-mouthed-cum-barfing tapori, Jag(Sonu Sood, clearly his character is inspired from 'The Italian Job' (translation:- The Italian Job, again 'duh')), the explosives expert, who currently works in movies, Tammy(Boman Irani, stereotyping Parsis yet again) a young-stud-at- heart old man, who is suffering from F.I.T.Z., Rohan(Vivaan Shah, is he really the son of Naseeruddin Shah, 'cause he doesn't look like him, in any angle) a loser small-time-hacker, and Mohini(Deepika Padukone, a poor lass, wasted in this film, though she dances well) a beautiful boneless dancer who has a fetish for English-speaking gentlemen. Together, they start a mission, called, tan-ta-dan, Mission:Happy New Year. Does Charlie have a plan? What do these six people have in common? What did Charan Grover do to Charlie? All these questions will be answered as the reels of 'Happy New Year' unfold!
First thing's first, the movie, produced by Shah Rukh's banner 'Red Chillies Entertainment' and distributed by 'Yash Raj Films', is just an awful heist movie, ever conceived. Though I have seen many bad heist movies, but they at least had some cheap thrills, and engaging heist-tricks as the redeeming factors. But in this movie, we can't find any thrill in this hackneyed-cum-illogical heist movie. The screenplay (Farah Khan, Althea Kaushal), as well as the final print, consists of logical loopholes, like:- 1) Since Charlie, the team-leader, has named his mission as Mission:Happy New Year, he should be sure that the heist would be committed at the night of 31st December. But no, they all turn out to be naive, including the captain, and try to commit it on a wrong date. This is just wrong as thieves ought to have complete information. 2) Which army-man in the world got a chance to work in the movies as the explosives supervisor, even when he is deaf by one ear. Sonu Sood, I'm talking about you 3) Boman Irani's character's handbag carries a supermarket. How does that happen? I've seen many over-the-top movies, but this is just appallingly awful. And so on. Moreover the screenwriters are inspired from movies like 'Ocean's 11 (translation:- Ocean's 11, 'duh' again), 'The Italian Job', 'Tower Heist' (translation:- Tower Heist, 'duh' for the last time), and so on.
The dialogues (Mayur Puri)range from clunky, to jingoistic, to over- sentimental, to cocky-funny, and to even lame, 'cause some dialogues, intended to be funny, are quite lame and cocky-funny. Some dialogues are heavily inspired from movies like 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge' (translation:- The big-hearted man will take the bride away), 'Chak De! India' (translation:- Rock On! India) and so on, intended as a parody, but fall flat.
Music, by Vishal-Shekhar, has never been so jarring, and deafness- inducing, except for 'Manwaa Laage'. Background score (John Stewart Eduri)is equally jarring. Cinematography (Manush Nandan) is exotic, though has a travelogue quality to it. I believe the editors (Tushar Parekh, Anand Subaya)must've slept while editing this awful movie. Visual effects (Red Chillies VFX) is quite good. I'm happy that Indian movies are improving considerably in visual effects. Stunts (Dave Judge)were quite good, if not the best. Choreography (Geeta Kapoor, Farah Khan)were quite apt, for this movie is a musical-heist movie.
Of the cast, almost everybody acted bad, or were wasted, except Deepika (to an extent), and Jackie Shroff. Abhishek Bachchan has a dual role, any of which, sadly, don't work. Anupam Kher, Prabhu Deva, Kiku, Malaika Arora Khan, Geeta Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap (was that you, Anurag, my favorite director?) and Vishal Dadlani (wasted after 'Tees Maar Khan') are wasted badly. Dino Morea and Sarah-Jane Dias make brief appearances, which is quite forgettable. The actor as the street fighter, in the film's opening scene, did well. On the whole, do not recommend 'Happy New Year' even to your worst enemy. He'll come out barfing, like Abhishek Bachchan, without the help of alcohol. I gave three stars out of ten, because:- 1) One Star for Deepika's dancing skills and Jackie Shroff's acting 2) Half Star for Visual Effects 3) Half Star for Cinematography 4) Half Star for Stunts 5) Half Star for Choreography. That's it!
Dhaam Dhoom (2008)
A breezy thriller, remake of 'Red Corner'
Being a remake of a not-so-good American thriller, 'Red Corner', 'Dhaam Dhoom' manages to provide some thrills and moments of its own, kudos to the visionary director, Jeeva, his wife, Anees Jeeva, and his assistant director, G. K. Manikandan, and his mentor-cum-cinematographer, P. C. Sreeram. These four people had put their effort for making this movie. Did it do well? Well, yes and no. Yes, because, as mentioned earlier, it has its own moments and thrills. No, because it mostly tests the audience's patience, as it plods in the runtime of 2 hours and 22 minutes. It is so dragging, the audience feels so restless. Watch it as a lazy-weekend movie, when you literally have nothing to do. Or if you wish to skip it, then go ahead.
Bang Bang (2014)
A dumber remake of an already dumb original.
In any way, 'Knight And Day' was no classic. Neither was it an Oscar-worthy movie, nor was it a wholesome entertainer. It was, in a nutshell, a campy romantic-action-comedy movie, which could be at best enjoyed with a big group of friends, accompanied by some alcohol, preferably beer.
Moreover, I have questions in my mind. What made the actors, especially Hrithik Roshan, and the movie makers, of their caliber, think to choose such a script? O.K., fine they were remaking it, but couldn't they choose another script? 'Knight And Day', a remake- worthy movie? In that case, why you all do not remake movies like 'Doom'? It was a bad movie too, wasn't it?
Cutting the long story short, we have 'Bang Bang' (translation:- Bang Bang(the sound of a gun firing)). This is an official remake (I still wonder how) of 'Knight And Day'. Produced by Fox Star Studios, and distributed/presented by Fox International Productions. Moreover, Patrick O'Neill wrote the original story, which was adapted as the Hindi-remake's screenplay by Sujoy Ghosh(of 'Kahaani' fame) and Suresh Nair(of 'D-Day' fame). Also, Abbas Tyrewala(of 'Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.' fame) wrote the dialogues for it, and the guy, who wielded the megaphone for 'Bang Bang' was Siddharth Anand(of 'Salaam Namaste' and 'Bachna Ae Haseeno' fame). Also Andy Armstrong(of 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' fame) co-ordinated with the stunts, along with Parvez Shaikh(of 'Dhoom' fame), directing it.
We have Rajveer Nanda (Hrithik Roshan), the oh-so-handsome thief, who has recently stolen the 'Kohinoor' diamond, from England. He's wanted, not only by the Secret Service Agents, but also by the main villain, Omar Zaffar (Danny Denzongpa) and his right-hand-man Hamid Gul (Javed Jaffery), along with their henchmen. Inadvertently, in this very roller-coaster ride, Harleen Sahni (Katrina Kaif), a meek bank receptionist, gets trapped in it. Who is Rajveer actually? Did he really steal the 'Kohinoor' diamond? Why are Omar and Hamid behind Rajveer and the diamond? All these questions get answered, as the reels of 'Bang Bang' unfold.
The marketing strategies were well planned out by the production and distribution companies Fox Star Studios and Fox International Productions. The trailers looked gorgeous, with all the explosions, car-chases, and especially the fly-board action stunt, performed by the lead actor Hrithik Roshan himself. This film, moreover, is touted to be the first film in the world to feature fly-board stunts, which is wrong though, but who cares.
The story, although mentioned above, is not remake-worthy. The screenplay, is quite fast-paced, and doesn't allow anyone in the audience, to think, though sans logic, loophole-containing and many times clichéd and shallow. Dialogues are quite clunky, cheesy and clichéd. Direction is at times quite apt, at times quite loose. Cinematography by Vikas Sivaraman(of 'Dhoom 2' and 'Sarfarosh' fame), Sunil Patel(of 'Salaam Namaste' and 'Hum Tum' fame) and Ben Jasper(of 'The Phantom' fame), is first rate. Editing by Akiv Ali(of 'Barfi!' fame) is quite snazzy, fast-paced and deliciously crisp. The visual effects by Fox Star Studios, is not great, but quite good, according to Indian standards. Stunts were amazing and eyeball grabbing. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is peppy and catchy, especially its title track, which is one of my personal favourites, as I feel nostalgic about the nineties. Background score by Salim-Sulaiman is both efficient and rocking.
Of the cast, Hrithik Roshan looked marvelous in stunt sequences, and had maintained his 'Greek-God' physique, till date. He emotes quite well too. Katrina Kaif looked nothing more than a bird-brained bimbo, that's it. Her chemistry with Hrithik is quite lacklustre. Danny excels, as always, in the villainous part. I never saw Javed Jaffery so menacing. Deepti Naval and Kanwaljit Singh, as Jai and Viren's parents, were apt. Jimmy Shergill appears in a brief role. Rest of the cast do their respective jobs, aptly.
On the whole, 'Bang Bang' is nothing but a hackneyed story, with shallow characterisation, too many loopholes and sans logic. A trashy-fun action-adventure, which can be enjoyed on a lazy weekend afternoon, when you've nothing to do. Otherwise, see the original movie, written above, or you may choose to skip both of them.
1 - Nenokkadine (2014)
The best Big-budget Telugu movie, which makes the audience think
When was the last time, when you actually applied your mind for a Big-budget Telugu movie? Never, right? It is quite true, because nowadays craps are being produced, in the name of Big-budget, star- studded Telugu movies. It's not that psychological thrillers were never made in Andhra, but they were either dismissed by the audience/producers/distributors, or they were not marketed enough. Now, behold for the most hyped, star-studded Telugu movie has arrived, and it has a name, called '1 - Nenokkadine' (translation:- I am the only one). One word verdict, which I, as a reviewer, would give, is:- FANTABULOUS. I had never seen such a visceral and slick Telugu movie, ever in my life.
Synopsis:- Gautam(Mahesh Babu), is a Rock-star, who's suffering from 'integration disorder', a psychological disorder, imagines three people, who, according to Gautam, had killed his parents. But since he was diagnosed with this mental condition, he was dismissed by almost everybody, except the news reporter, Sameera(Kriti Sanon). Who were those three? Is Gautam still imagining all this? Is there anything more than what meets the eye? Is there a past of Gautam? If yes, who has/knows it? Are the questions, which this movie will answer, as each and every reel unfolds.
First of all, for the kind of marketing strategies, implied by 14 Reels Entertainment and EROS Entertainment, it is applause-worthy. The marketing strategies not only left a good impression on us, but also intrigues the audience, so that they get drawn to the theatres. Hats-off. Having heard that the movie's budget is of ₹ 70 Crore ($ 11.39 Million), making it the most expensive Telugu movie ever, it really paid off.
Sukumar, the technician behind movies like, 'Arya', 'Arya 2', 'Jagadam' and '100% Love', has taken the biggest leap, in his career. Nobody would have ever imagined him to take such a leap. As a writer and director, Sukumar really gave us a blazingly-original movie. As a writer-cum-director though, there are a few loose ends in the screenplay and in the final print. But they are not quite significant to dismiss the whole movie.
Music is of international quality. Devi Sri Prasad, known for churning out mass-friendly albums, except 'Arya 2' to an extent, has churned out the best album of his career. The lyrics by Chandrabose, were very visceral and meaningful. Except 'London Babu', which is according to me the worst of the soundtrack, almost every song stands out. Though, 'London Babu' is just composed for keeping the masses in the mind.
But the most interesting and the best part of this movie is the set- up and the action sequences. Art Directors Rajeevan and Caroline Steiner, have given their best, and have presented the best art- works of their careers. Cinematographer Rathnavelu has captured each and every frame of Hyderabad, Goa and London, beautifully. Action director Peter Hein has come up with Hollywood-esque action stunts. They really stun you to the core. Moreover, I heard that the Bollywood movie, 'Bang Bang' is the only movie in the world to use fly-boards for an action scene. This is ridiculous, as the similar scene is there in '1:Nenokkadine'.
Mahesh Babu, as the protagonist, acts with enough energy and sincerity. Moreover, he seems to have enjoyed the shooting experience. Newbie Kriti Sanon has got the meatiest role ever. This is the only Telugu movie, according to me, which does not reduce the leading lady to a bimbo. Gautam Krishna(Mahesh's real son) who acted as the protagonist's childhood image, is quite raw and convincing. Sayaji Shinde hams at places, but otherwise is quite apt. Srinivasa Reddy, as Sayaji Shinde's accomplice and a fellow Indian Constable, is again quite apt. Kelly Dorji looks stylish. Pradeep Rawat acted his part with sincerity. Nassar is convincing, but what's with the obnoxious-looking wigs he had donned. Posani Krishna Murali annoys at times. Naveen Polisetty has the innocence, which is quite apt for the role he had bagged. Sophie Choudry is sure to win the hearts of the masses, in an item number. Rest all do their parts with sincerity.
On the whole, '1:Nenokkadine' is not a film to be seen after wasting the initial 10 minutes of the movie or by skipping a few reels here and there. If you do so, you really will miss the core part of the movie. Hats-off Sukumar sir to make such a blazingly-original movie.
Kochadaiiyaan (2014)
The best effort in Indian Animation
Years ago, we, as Indian Animators, used to either depend on other countries like Japan, America or other such superpowers to make an animated movie, to entertain the audience. And while we used to make tacky movies, which have no mechanical/dynamical/aesthetical values. No wonder they were just dismissed and discarded.
But after years of experimenting by Indian Animators, we just can say this, "Though not at par with Hollywood, but still a commendable effort by us as Indians." KOCHADAIIYAAN is one such effort. I do not wish to spoil the story by writing it down, on this website, because it is not just a movie... It is an effort put up by Indians, with a Hollywood studio backing it up. It's one of those movies, for which you should not depend on the critic's reviews to analyse it... It is a movie, which should be seen either in the nearest theatre/on your TV screens, to cherish the efforts we have put up.
Though, posting this review quite late, but it is worth it, as I saw it on my TV, because I couldn't get the chance to see it in the nearest theatre, due to other commitments. But go ahead, enjoy the effort made by us as Indians. JAI HIND!!!