Haider - The 'bravest' film of our times

Haider is not just 'a' film. It is 'the' bravest film of our times. The makers of this film don't shy away from making their political leanings amply clear, and this itself is a win for our democracy. Before I even talk about the merits of the film, I must respond to a question which few friends of mine asked, when I posted a status about Haider earlier on facebook. (Disclaimer: I am neither an expert on Kashmir, nor on politics. So I don't want to talk about criticism of the film in terms of its politics.)

And my response to those few friends is - I didn't think about our army in bad light. I didn't even once think (I watched the film twice) that Kashmiri Pandits' story needn't be told. I just felt Vishal Bhardwaj made a film about an individual and his family. About those lives where politics wreaked havoc. The sides really didn't matter. Vishal opened up a debate, on never before discussed topics in Hindi films, like AFSPA. And that's his victory. Now any other film maker can bravely go ahead and show the other side through another thought provoking film. That would not only be good for Indian Cinema, but also for people like us, who are otherwise distant from such issues. 

Now coming to the film review. Haider is a film, which, I can watch many times over, without getting bored, because of superlative acting by everyone. I was mighty impressed by background score of "roohdaar". I loved the fact that there was nothing bollywood'ish in the structuring of the film. Vishal Bhardwaj and Bashrat Peer kept surprising us with their excellent dialogues which you can't tire of hearing again and again. The film is so nuanced that one can discover new aspects every time one watches it. The screenplay is paced well and it throws enough scenes at you which will haunt you long after the film is over. I will never forget the one where Shahid Kapoor draws a parallel between Kashmir and a "qaid-khana" or between AFSPA and Chutzpah. Then mad outburst of Shahid's Haider at Lal Chowk is an eye opener. And so is his performance in the song 'Bismil'. (Here I must mention Gulzar's penmanship. He always gives his best to Vishal's films). Irrfan Khan's scenes, especially that hilarious scene about the "New Disease", will leave you numb. Tabu and Shahid's scenes, where you feel undercurrents of Oedipus Complex are winner too. Shraddha Kapoor's last scene is a forewarning of the imminent destruction and she does that without any dialogues. She is fast turning into a very proficient actor. The song "Aao Na" and the entire "Salman and Salman" track provides sufficient dark humour, where Vishal's signature style is visible.

And finally for me, Kay Kay Menon emerges as the best actor. The fate he meets at the end and where the film deviates from Hamlet, is a knock-out punch. This film is a piece of art in every which way. It is the best film of this year so far. It is so good that my review doesn't lives up to it.

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Bang Bang - It hits you hard, in all the wrong ways!

It's a hit. It's a hit. It's a hit. It's a banging hit. It hits your intelligence. But Oh! It has Abs. It hits your sensibilities. But it has those much touted action pieces, so what if none of them is thrilling. It hits you with so many brand placements. But, so what har brand placement ke aage producer ki jeet hai. Film gayi bhaad mein.

I had seen Knight and Day. Though script wise, even that film was at best average. But it was pacy and Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz had some amazing chemistry. That film had some chutzpah (borrowing from Haider, released the same week as Bang Bang) about it. So when I went to see its official remake stupidly called Bang Bang (the same way Hrithik's ghar is called Ghar in the film- that was the moment I had genuinely laughed), I didn't expect that for 1st 30 minutes, Knight and Day wouldn't even kick in. I did my own countdown, till the real film started, with things unrelated to the story to make the film more Indian, being hurled at me, all this while.

50000...49999...49998... wheels of revenge set in motion.... 40000... 39999...the villain eating a pizza in James Bond office.... (Ian Fleming would be turning in his grave) 35000... 34999... Hrithik loses his shirt without any reason... 30000.... 29999... 29998... Katrina and Hrithik meet in shimla, totally robbing away the serendipity of Cruise - Diaz meeting in the original... 10000.... 9000... A song... 5000.... 4000... Hrithik losing his shirt again without reason.... 5...4...3...2.. b

ang bang...

Thank god for my undying love for Katrina and Hrithik's enthusiasm, the film gets its act right in the second hour, and thus I could survive a major HIT.

Bang Bang - First reviewed on my facebook account on 15th October 2014

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Humshakals - 159 minutes of Torture

The film was just 159 minutes long. Otherwise I would have got my full quota of a day's sleep, had it been 9 times longer... If Tees Maar Khaan and Himmatwala are part of a torture regime, this one is definitely a cure for insomnia...

P.S. The image above itself should have been a warning enough :-)

Humshakals - First reviewed on my facebook account on 22nd June 2014

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Dhoom 3 - Thrice the entertainment...

Dhoom 3 -

Prologue: Dhoom and Dhoom 2 were not spectacularly great films. Nonetheless they were entertaining. So the people who are disappointed with Dhoom 3, either hadn't seen the earlier installments and went with expectations of seeing a movie about a dyslexic boy riding bikes (could have been titled "Bechaare Zameen Par") or they are those Hollywood aficionados who can tolerate similarly inconceivable action scenes and logical loop-holes in the screenplay if it is an English film (e.g. Fast & Furious series) till the time it entertains. Infact I thought Dhoom 3 had more of a plot as compared to all six Fast & Furious films ;-) So for these set of people my review is going to be highly disappointing.

Review: Dhoom 3 delivers on all the promises of this franchisee and in fact it over delivers both in terms of entertainment and best-in-class production values. Presence of Aamir Khan actually enhances the franchisee because for the first time in Dhoom series one gets to see top notch acting apart from its regular elements of high octane chase sequences, high quality stunts (even if they are implausible) and hot looking girls in Katrina Kaif and Tabrett Bethell.

Aamir Khan has done this kind of role for the first time and he aces in presenting different facets effortlessly. For a change even Uday Chopra nails his character sketch right. Katrina Kaif looks and moves every bit like a Goddess of Beauty. She has never looked this stunning before. Cinematorgraphy, visual effects and BMW bikes - all are way better than what one expects in a Hindi Film. The songs 'Malang' and 'Kamli' are exquisitely shot. In nutshell, the film is fast paced and thoroughly entertaining.

Post Ghajini, this is the second Aamir Khan film, which has borrowed something from Christopher Nolan's film. But unlike, what others would like you to believe, the plot itself hasn't been borrowed. The only two things which I thought could have been done better were - 1. They should have created a more tense and satisfactory climax 2. They should have at least shown one heist actually happening.

Otherwise, no complaints :-)

P.S.
1. Most of the guys including me wanted the song 'Kamli' to be longer by few more lines :-)
2. There are 16 films - English and Hindi - Good and Bad - watched over past 4 months, about which I haven't written. WORK overpowering passion. It is time I bring some Dhoom back into LIFE.

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Krrish 3 - Its not a film, it is a manufactured blockbuster

Krrish 3 - This film is not made as an expression of art or to narrate a story. It is manufactured to be a Diwali blockbuster - manufactured with elements borrowed from Hollywood films and Rakesh Roshan's own films. As I watched this film in a packed hall, and was constantly getting distracted by the brand placements in the film (I could spot 15 brands at least), my mind was numerically calculating the crores it is going to collect. It doesn't matter that I didn't enjoy the film at all. It doesn't matter that so called 1st super-hero of Bollywood fails to inspire. So instead of a review, here is the way this film was manufactured - 

Krrish's opening scene copied from Superman (+)10 points, The scene copied badly (-)10 points, The scene looks better than the effects in Ra.One (+)10 points

The antidote scene for countering virus in Mumbai copied from The Amazing Spiderman (+)10 points, The scene copied badly (-)10 points, The scene looks better than the effects in Ra.One (+)10 points

Kaal's character copied from X-Men series (+)10 points, combined Magneto and Professor X into one (+)10 points, Vivek Oberoi is Kaal (-)50 points

Kaal's scrap suits gets assembled in Iron Man style (+)10 points, makes a mess of it (-)10 points, Vivek Oberoi is no Robert Downy Jr. (-)50 points

Some parts of the film inspired by Mission Impossible series (+) 10 points and ended with a possibility of The Incredibles copy in Krrish 4 (+)50 points

Climax of the film copied from at least 3 films - Man of Steel, Avengers etc. (+) 30 points, copied well (+) 30 points, better than effects in Ra.One (+) 10 points, Vivek Oberoi is killed (+) 100 points 

I had seen all the films from which Krrish 3 has borrowed (-) 50 points, my wife didn't sleep through the film (+) 50 points

Thankfully there was no Krrish 2 (+) 50 points, Pathetic songs by Rajesh Roshan and misplaced emotional scenes (-)30 points, All non special effects scenes have tacky production quality (-20) points, Super-hero Krrish dies once and is revived by his father (-) 20 points, Super-hero Krrish not only saves the world, he spends half the time to save his family members as well (+) 20 points, Priyanka Chopra (-)100 points, Kangna Ranaut as the hottest mutant ever (+) 100 points, Kangna Ranaut in those skimpy outfits (+) 850 points

Total Points (+) 1020 (Don't bother to check my maths, Kangna has skewed the scores). Result: 10 days Average 20 crores each day. Anything above is bonus 

P.S. I felt pity for the main leads that they had to do this film, where in the garb of a super-hero film, Rakesh Roshan serves the same stuff he has been serving for ages - revenge, lost brothers, father-son drama, his hero always playing more than 2 roles. By the way weren't Karan Arjun and Kishan Kanhaiya doing the same shit in his earlier films, without a cape.

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Shuddh Desi Romance is pretentious

Shuddh Desi Romance - It is one of the most pretentious films that I have seen lately. It pretends to be uber-cool and ultra-modern and it also pretends to understand the dynamics of live-in relationships, especially the ones set in small towns with nosy neighbours and landlords. The characters in these live-in relationships are shown constantly as people who are confused, irresponsible and without any ideological moorings.

While the texture of Jaipur is captured in a very realistic manner the social fabric of the town is far removed from reality and it seems the entire film is set-up in a place which doesn't exist. Under the garb of modernity, projected through so-called symbols of modernism like girls smoking,

multiple partners etc., the film actually peddles regressive stuff. It does a huge dis-service to live-in relationships.

Even if I ignore for the review's sake, the philosophy of the film-maker and the writer, the film is weak otherwise as well. The concept of the film would have sounded extremely exciting on paper, but fizzles out on screen after first 45 minutes. The scenes and situations just start repeating themselves thereafter, and the film ends just like that. I got bored to death in the second half.

Parineeti Chopra was hugely likeable in the film though. Sushant Singh Rajput acts well. But the debutante Vaani Kapoor looked stiff. Dialogues and songs of the film are few positives of the film.

Rishi Kapoor's versatility continues and seeing him playing a different character yet again provided solace that all was not lost in this film.

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Grand Masti - The film with a long term impact ;-)

Grand Masti- If you like rated / risque comedies, you won't be disappointed. This film is surely going to have a long term impact. One it would spawn several films of this genre - lazy writing, whatsapp jokes and vulgar (yet clever) gags copied from abroad. Secondly, by reaching 100 crores, it has definitely given a new lease of life to failed actors, especially in this genre. Bruna Abdallah seemingly was the best actress in the film. No I am not referring to her histrionics 

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Satyagraha - Prakash Jha does a Madhur Bhandarkar

Prakash Jha has become the slave of his own formula. I have loved his films in past. They always have meaty subjects, excellent story-telling, actors giving their best and above all he takes you to places, Hindi cinema rarely goes. 

This time also he does all this, but somehow fails to connect with me as an audience. In fact as a director he comes across more as Madhur Bhandarkar in this one than himself. He relies heavily on scandalizing every aspect. He peddles every stereotype associated with post independence movements. e.g. Capitalists are bad. Greed is not good. Only teachers / old men who have renounced everything are respected by masses. Youth only participates through social media, etc. etc. Also, the way Anna Hazare movement was misguided, this film is equally superficial. Never really delves deep and the end result is a 'khichdi' of sorts.

It is not that everything is wrong with the film. The 1st half, the set-up of conflict and the pace till interval is good. Manoj Bajpayee gives yet another performance you can watch this film for. It is the stupid climax and over-simplification of the possible solutions that leaves you angry at the end.

At the same time it is true, that watching Satyagraha is a better option than many more films 'still' playing at a theater near you...

P.S. Amitabh Bachchan is now doing same kind of roles. Though still reliable, needs to re-invent. Ajay Devgn needs a break. Arjun Rampal has done well for himself, by being a constant in Prakash Jha's films irrespective of the role he gets  Kareena Kapoor is always Kareena Kapoor - never the character....

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Madras Cafe - India's first political thriller?

Most probably it is India's first political thriller and 'may be' parts of it are true as well. I am choosing my words carefully here, because while the film works fine as a thriller, it somehow doesn't get its political machinations right. A fictional story of a RAW agent set against the backdrop of true incidents like Sri Lankan Civil War and assassination of a national leader from India, the film never truly mines the potential of the material at hand. Though at the same time, it is a compelling watch, due to its ability to get under the skin of a RAW agent (unlike 'Ek Tha Tiger').

The film's strength is that it takes a nuetral stance over the issue and presents the film through the eyes of the lead played by John Abraham. So it ensures several hard-hitting moments related to work and dangers faced by a RAW agent. This aspect was highlight of the film for me. But this very strength, actually turns into a weakness as well. The film-maker in order to avoid taking sides, sanitises the political aspects and the mess that was created by Indian government's meddling. It never fully delves into the psyche of key players in the conflict as well. As John Abraham's Major Vikram Singh is mostly clueless, it restricts the scope of the film. But I still applaud Shoojit Sircar and John for making this film. May be the film wouldn't have been allowed to release if they had treaded outside the safe zone.

After 'Vicky Donor', Shoojit Sircar displays his assured direction once again. John Abraham acts well, but it is the supporting cast including Nargis Fakhri (relatively unknown) that makes the film credible.

Kudos to the makers for giving me a break from the run-of-the-mill stuff being churned out, in last few weeks. I just wish they had the strength to go the whole hog...

Copyright® CINEMAnia

Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara - My kind of masala film

First up, answers to three questions that everyone is asking:

1. I haven't yet figured it out, that why there is an extra 'y' after 'A' in the film's title. May be it will help the film to cross Rs. 100 crores despite the promotional blitzkrieg of Chennai Express.

2. OUATIMD is not better than OUATIM. (By the way is it fair to have a film title so long, that even its acronym seems never ending? It is difficult to do justice to such films on twitter). See my views on OUATIM at the end of the post.

3. OUATIMD is any day better than Chennai Express. (Just saying in purely relative terms)

Now review -

The film retains several good elements of part 1. It has clap-trap dialogues, larger than life characters, glamorized gang leaders, a quirky sense of humor (especially in the 1st half), a plot which can't be called wafer thin and good performances by leads.

Akshay Kumar is a good choice for mouthing out those heavy duty punch lines and his swagger makes up for the lack of intensity, that defined Ajay Devgn's character in part 1. Sonakshi Sinha is fast emerging as a reliable actress. I have always liked her. Even here where her character isn't very well written, she makes the best of it. Imran Khan was disappointing in parts, though he handled romance well. The music of the film is also above average.

But the film lacks the soul of the first one. It is not as if first one was a great film, but this one doesn't bring out the mentor - protege conflict as well as it should have. Also it takes a lot of time to come to the point of conflict and that makes second half a drag. While Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi) in OUATIM was pure evil, the Shoaib in OUATIMD (Akshay Kumar) has a heart. This somehow takes away the continuity and the edginess of this character.

But I like my masala films like this one and not like Chennai Express. 

-----
My views on OUATIM when it released in 2010 (see how things didn't change much)

"Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai - Movie is partly good..Lots of claptraps and old style dialoguebaazi..ajay and emraan give good performances..BUT BUT its very slow and dragging...and thats a sin for a gangster movie..also very lil guns n blood..another cardinal mistake for gang based movie... climax was weak..Overall an average watch"

OUATIM - First reviewed on my facebook account on 2nd August 2010

Copyright® CINEMAnia