Saturday, July 12, 2025

Q2 2025 - Feast or Famine

 PODCAST THIS YEAR - A-TO-ZED BOLLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEW

  1. Not a "TOP 10 HINDI MOVIES OF 2024" Episode
  2. MRS - An awesome typical married life
  3. Pushpa 2 AND Mere husband Ki Biwi - 2 Diametrically opposite bad movies.
  4. Superboys of Malegaon and Baby John - Very Good and Very Bad.
  5. Jaat and Kesari 2 - Very Bad AND Very Good
  6. The Royals AND Sikandar

Podcast - Apple


BOLLYWOOD
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RAID 2 - 3.5 Stars. G. 









Raid 2 - Trailer

Directed by - Raj Kumar Gupta

Starring - Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Vaani Kapoor

Raid was a good one, I think it was a remake. Raid 2 is not bad either. An Income tax officer digs up some stuff wherever he goes. He runs into a politician (Riteish) and has a tough time to crack the mystery - where is the black money? 

Riteish Deshmukh once in a couple of years comes up with a performance which establishes him as an actor and then he forgets he was an actor for a few years. This is a good performance from him and he carries this movie along with a tight script. Then we have Ajay Devgan who supposedly emotes with his eyes, except for he has obsession with 'Kala Chashma' and smoking. The camera focusses on his face on the entire screen and half the screen is covered with his big fat black sunglasses, rest of his face is beard that goes all the way3/4th of his neck. What's going on? 


KESARI CHAPTER 2 - 4.0 Stars. R. 









Kesari Chapter 2 - Trailer

Directed by - Karan Singh Tyagi

Starring - Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan, Ananya Panday

Something changed between Kesari 1 and Kesari 2, maybe Director or producer. Kesari was a zero starrer and Kesari 2 is taut well made historic thriller. Based on Jallianwala Bagh massacre a lawyer has a change of heart and fights the British in British courts to unravel the truth of massacre to the world. 

When you think Akshay is a joke he will give you a performance that you will be like, ummm... I guess just like Ritiesh this guy is also an actor! He knocks the ball out of the park and gives a performance of his life. He has been on fire for sometime now churning great performances one after the other. Our favorite Ananya is in a small but important role. You go girl. Ananya is great. Madhavan is over the top but that's nothing new. Go watch this one if you got the appetite to get depressed. The message is - If you feel bad regarding a massacre, please make sure you feel bad for all massacres and genocide don't pick and chose your good and bad genocide. 


DEVA - 1.5 Stars. PG13









Deva - Trailer

Directed by - Rosshan Andrrews

Starring Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde, Pavail Gulati

Shahid Kapoor wanted in on the south Indian party. I mean having a south Indian style direction, you know the male testosterone driven trash party. He got one. 500 slow-mo entry scenes smoking with sunglasses (at night) killing villains while making sure killing himself by smoking 500 cigarettes. 


SKYFORCE - 1 Star. G. 









Sky Force - Trailer

Directed by - Sandeep Kewlani, Abhishek Anil Kapur

Starring Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan, Nimrat Kaur

Sorry, I added it then I realized I never finished it. India Pakistan, pakistan Indian... india pak.. muslim hindu hindu muslim... pakistan bad guy me good guy.. my army better their army bad.. my loss big loss other guy loss no loss good riddance... my spy great spy other spy corrupt immoral.... get well soon India. 


BHOOL CHUK MAAF - 2.5 Stars. G. 









Bhool Chuk Maaf - Trailer

Directed by - Karan Sharma

Starring - Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Seema Pahwa, Sanjay Mishra, Raghubir Yadav, Zakir Hussain

This is a movie that Rajkummar can do with his eyes shut. It is his genre, he created it, he ruled it and now he looks stale in it. Still it's an okay comedy about a guy who gets stuck in a time warp and wants to get to the day he marries his sweet heart. A typical small town comedy that Rajkummar has ruled for years. I think it is time to take a break from these though. 

MERE HUSBAND KI BIWI - 2.5 Stars. G.









Mere Husband Ki Biwi - Trailer

Directed by - Mudassar Aziz

Starring - Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Rakul Preet Singh

Arjun Kapoor is definition of nepo baby, and he is wearing it proudly in his movies. He has given up on trying to learn the craft of acting. The movie is a very regular comedy like 'Ghar wali, bahaar wali'. 2 women going for the same man and having a tussle and lot of fun around it. 

The worst part of the movie is even the side kick is not funny, are there side kick nepo babies too? These movies do need strong comic actors surrounding failing stars but this one fails to deliver that too. The upside is the movie is still pretty watchable, go through the motions there are a few laughs there is an attempt in having some drama the girls do okay, Bhumi and Rakul are doing their best. Also this is a perfect time pass movie you see it and you don't even know you saw it. Like me, am writing this review but don't recall what happened. 


LOVEYAPA - 2.0 Stars. G. 









Loveyapa - Trailer

Directed by - Advait Chandan

Starring - Junaid Khan, Khushi Kapoor

I am sure this concept is borrowed from some other movie. The couple exchange their phones and find a lot more about each other than they ever knew. Will they still stay together or not? The movie is ruined by actors especially our main lead who should not be doing comedies. In this one the side actors try but it looks all made up. 

The movie is again made for our nepo babies, Aamir's son and Sridevi's daughter. Both struggle to create comedy because somehow either you are comic or you are not you can't learn it. Unless you are your dad and mom who were dedicated in learning their craft no matter what. One constant problem with all star kids is they don't know Hindi. They speak like it's their second language. They have picked it up from listening to their maids because south Mumbai kids hardly are exposed to it. They probably don't go to any acting school, dance degrees or do anything that will make them ready. When you can see uncle Arjun dishing out movie after movie you can do that too! 


THE DIPLOMAT - 4.0 Stars. R. 









The Diplomat - Trailer

Directed by - Shivam Nair

Starring John Abraham, Sadia Khateeb, Jagjeet Sandhu, Kumud Mishra, Sharib Hashmi, Revathy, Ashwath Bhatt

Another India Pak saga! before you move on thinking I am going to go on a rant. Guys there is hope! Even when you have to do India Pak and you have to suck up to the administration you still can make an engaging great cinema! Yes, this was an awesome movie! A girl duped by a man and brought to Pak, she needs to escape and finds a way to reach Indian embassy, how did the 'Diplomat' get her out? 

Long time readers know I have soft corner for our John Hulk Ibraham, the guy started as a non actor model and has been morphing himself into various roles. The best part is he acts his age and is not worried about getting old. He can't do much with his acting skills but he keeps a straight face and does the needful rest is taken care by a brilliant actor called Sadia Khateeb. She knocks the ball out of the park what an actor! Others do a good job and the script keeps you engaged. Good work!


JEWEL THEIF - 1.5 Stars. PG. 









Jewel Thief - Trailer

Directed by - Kookie Gulati, Robbie Grewal

Starring - Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nikita Dutta, Kunal Kapoor

Let's make a heist movie and like all heist movies it needs to be cool and swanky. Everything should be dripping with style and suave. Everyone should do some extra, no one should look real everyone should act and talk like they are juveniles trying to act all so tuff. This was the premise of the movie and the players gave what was asked of them. Airplanes, museums and everything that is needed to steal a jewel is in the movie. If you like these 'Oceans 11' kind sure go for it but don't laugh at the stupidity. 


SIKANDAR - 1.0 Stars. G. 









Sikandar - Trailer

Directed by - A. R. Murugadoss

Starring Salman Khan, Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Kajal Aggarwal, Sharman Joshi

Sallu bhai Sallu bhai so much going on in your head. Sallu bhai's egotistical self can't let go that he is the greatest human on earth. unfortunately that spills into every movie he does. He has to show he is great! He is everything! he is a prince, he is the bad guy, he is the good guy, he is the greatest husband and he is the greatest robin hood, he does things for everyone and most importantly no one understands him. 

A south Indian directed movie, you know where it is going. The larger than life man who will mouth a one liner (which is not even good) and then break a few bones. All for saving some organs in some bodies. In case you are one of these who will dare to watch I won't spoil the fun but yea Sallu bhai is in love with various organs in people and want to save them. Maybe now you have to watch it. Just watch the trailer they spill everything anyways. A special mention to Sharman Joshi, congrats on the worst acting of your career. We have no clue why you were apologetic and scared all through the movie when you talked trying to be subservient to the point of disappearing in thin air because Sir Sallu is in front of you. But none of the others were doing that! No clue what you did there. Not that it matters. 


STOLEN - 4.5 Stars. R. 









Stolen - Trailer

Directed by - Karan Tejpal

Starring - Abhishek Banerjee, Shubham Vardhan, Mia Maelzer, Harish Khanna, Sahidur Rahaman

Now this is my kind of movie! This is quality cinema a thriller, a drama that needs to be watched. A baby is stolen from the trani platform of a homeless girl. Same time these 2 rich brothers are at the station because their flight got cancelled. They are caught in the ongoings, one brother is sympathetic to the cause the other wants to get out of their. No matter what they do, they keep getting pulled into a full scale brawl. 

The lady who plays the mom, oh man.. hats off to her, this is called working on a role. Mia Maelzer? Whoever that is, what an actor! Abhishek and Shubham are great actors too and they all lift this taut thriller to it's climax. Sit tight and watch this uncomfortably great cinema. 


CHHORRI 2 - 0 Stars. R. 









Chhorri-2 - Trailer

Directed by - Vishal Furia

Starring - Nushrratt Bharuccha, Soha Ali Khan, Gashmeer Mahajani

Chhori was a 5 star movie a few years ago this blogger had gone gaga over it. AND they now try to make money by bringing in a Chhorri 2 extending the story without the soul. They figured it is time for horror movies and Chhorri was I guess in their heads a horror movie! They make this second edition into a horror drama. What stupidity, I think the only explanation is the writer and creator of the original is not part of this one. Anyways this is the biggest disappointment of the year that's why it gets a Zero. 


CRAZXY - 4.0 Stars. G. 









Crazxy - Trailer

Directed by - Girish Kohli

Starring - Sohum Shah

The guy who made the great 'Tumbadd' comes up with a crazy, whacky over a night thriller. Very simple but still engrossing and engaging thriller. A doctor has a child with special needs, he has some relationship issues going on with his wife. He is going to pay off all his troubles and will be a free man again but a kidnapping happens that makes him chose between his freedom or his loved ones. Is it a scam is it real, is he being played or can he play the villain with his wits. It all happens in a night mostly in his car. 


WEB SERIES

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE: A FAMILY MATTER - 3.5 Stars.









Criminal Justice: A Family Matter

Genre - Crime, Legal drama, Thriller

Created by - Harman Wadala

Starring Pankaj Tripathi, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Khushboo Atre, Asha Negi, khushi Bhardwaj

A pretty long TV series that ebbs and flows but keeps a decent momentum and interest through out. Pankaj Tripathi does Panka Tripathi things, he plays a lawyer just like he is in real life, is it creative or is it lazy? I am not sure, but he tries to add comedy in his lawyers stint able supported by his wife fresh of the boat from her rural background and her brother she has brought with her. They are a cute family and they are together trying to solve the case and fight for the doctor who is being accused of murdering his lover who he was seeing outside his marriage. Mohammad Zeeshan who is playing the doctor is okay and has limitations as an actor but does his part well. Surveen chawla is an actor par excellent what a performance. She just kills this role of a mom taking care of a special needs kid while dealing with her husband's adultery. Beautifully done and please fast forward to last couple of episodes when things come to a head and Surveen shows what a great actor can do. This one gets 3.5 stars only because it's a TV series and it could have been shorter but it is a very good series and is watchable. 


KHAKEE: THE BENGAL CHAPTER - 3.0 Stars.









Khakee:The Bengal Chapter

Genre - Crime drama, Action Thriller

Created by - Neeraj Pandey

Directed by Debatma Mandal, Tushar Kanti Ray

Starring - Prosenjit ChatterjeeJeet, Saswata Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Chitrangada Singh

The greatness of this series is that every single character is bengali. It is set in bengal with heavy dose of bengali and every single actor is actually from bengal! Whne has that ever happened? Just for that you should watch this. 

It is a cop drama this time set in Bengal. It is politcian gunda nexus and how it affects cops. The superman cop comes and tried to clean the system. Prsenjit has a screen presence and seems like a Bachchan of the Bengal films he is given scenes that befit a star so I am guessing he is big deal in Bengal. There are at least 10 characters that have deep thick personalities developed and the show does keep you engaged. It is a little too bloody and gory for no reason. COuld have been shorter, 


PANCHAYAT 4 - 4.0 Stars. G









Panchayat Season 4 - Trailer

Genre - Comedy, Drama

Directed by - Deepak Kumar Mishra, Akshat Vijaywargiya

Starring - Jitendra Kumar, Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Sanvikaa Pooja Singh, Durgesh Kumar, Ashok Pathak, Sunita Rajwar, Bulloo Kumar, Pankaj Jha

If you have been living under a rock, welcome to the web series world. This super hit web series about village and small little dramas of the village has been on for few seasons. Last time it dropped a little when it became too big but this season they reign it back to make it slower paced and stick to their roots. Thanks to the directors for doing that. 

The cons are they focus a little too much on the politics, I guess you can't take politics out of a common man in India. My gripe is that there was not a stretch that was not about election and politics, the best scene was daughter vs daughter fight over a kachori. I wanted more scenes like that. This season they push back from Jitendra Kumar to Raghubir Yadav who gives an inspiring performance in this one. Every character is now etched into our memories and each character is unique in their own way. The so called villains are no more worse than the heroes and it's the greatness of the show that it is such a level playing field. 

THE ROYALS - 1.0 Stars. G.








The Royals - Trailer

Genre - Romantic comedy, Drama

Created by - Rangita Pritish Nandy, Ishita Pritish Nandy

Starring - Ishaan Khatter, Bhumi Pednekar

Pretense pretense and more pretense. Let's pretend like the Royals. No one know what is this Royal lifestyle but everyone has a fascination about it. Let's talk in certain cringe way and act in even more cringe fashion. Talking about fashion, let's wear weird clothes if any. Let's make it a fashion show put together in a web series. If you think about it, the series had everything, all the check boxes are ticked. Drama, love story, comedy, intrigue, revenge... everything but no soul. It feels disjointed and very irritating. Especially Bhumi normally a reliable actor is cringe to watch, she is not comfortable and really realty tries hard to become something she can't. Good attempt but a failed attempt. Don't watch it. 


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