PODCAST THIS YEAR - A-TO-ZED BOLLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEW
- Dhurandhar - Another great Hate-Fest
- Haq and Homebound - Right and Left Wing social reforms.
- Thamma AND Ek Diwane ki Diwaniyat AND Sunny Sanskari ki Tulsi Kumari
- Maalik AND Aap Jaisa Koi AND Panchayat 4
- Saiyaara - Great 2025 Movie but not a generational movie
- Dhadak 2 - Oh Love Why o love
- WAR 2 - Spyverse on Steroids.
- The Royals AND Sikandar AND Criminal Justice
- Jaat AND Kesari 2 - Very Bad AND Very Good.
- Superboys of Malegaon AND Baby John - Very good and Very Bad
- Pushpa 2 AND Mere Husband ki biwi - 2 - Dramatically opposite bad movies
- MRS - An awesome typical married life.
DHURANDHAR - 0 STARS. R
Directed by - Aditya Dhar
Starring - Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi
Should have been named 'Dhurandhar - the Pakistan files' as has been the case, all propaganda lies of the dictatorial regime has come with 'files'. It is a stark brown nosing by Aditya Dhar of the current regime and the movie has lot of problems not only from the standpoint that it is immorally made. Even as a so called patriots showing Indian enemies as the coolest suave stylized versions that were reserved for anti establishment but upright protagonists in the past. The movie has no creativity except for fantasizing real life events with whatever the current administration will like dumb people to know. The movie makers understand at this point with couple of generations who have no idea about religion or critical reasoning cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality and if you mix them it will create an impact of anger and Hindu nationalism which serves well to continue to uproot any sense of decency or democracy in the country.
The movie is about a spy who infiltrates gangs in Pakistan and trying to create rift within them and then discovers all the terrorist plots against India but no one can stop them because the government of India is bad until one day BJP government will come and save the world. This is exactly what will happen in Dhurandhar 2. Akshay Khanna hasn't done much, that can be called as great acting but he is major part of the movie, Ranveer Singh who finally is relieved to participate in a Hindu nationalist movie so that government is off his back and he can continue his career in peace, is noticed standing in the side of each frame hands crossed and looking serious. The surprising part of the movie is that the entire movie is in Pakistan and every character is Pakistani, so the obsession on Indians with Pakistan has reached the level that the entire movie is with Pakistan issues and characters. It is funny how they hated Pakistan so much that they made a beautiful country of India into Pakistan. Good job Dhar!
TU MERI MEIN TERA MEIN TERA TU MERI - 3.0 STARS. G.
Directed by - Sameer Vidwans
Starring - Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday, Neena Gupta, Jackie Shroff
The typical Bollywood romances sounds way better than a hate-fest. Even though it is same old same old, but it's our same old. Same Bollywood 90s plot of a cringe garbage guy annoying everyone in international locales along with the girl he is supposed to be wooing. Unsurprisingly the girl does fall for him due to the low bar Indian males have set for themselves, he turns out to be able to say one good line in his life and that is enough. 90s type love story - check. 90s type songs - check. 90s type drama of heart break - check. music videos - check. international locales - check. Add some new 2020s gen Z verbiage and there you go got a new love story.
It is not a bad movie, it is a time pass movie, lovers love each other but love their parents even more... aww so sweet. You will watch the movie and you will get some laughs and at the end you will feel yea... that's a good Bollywood movie. Karthik Aryan can't act to save his life, the guy is so insecure in his looks, he cant leave his sunglasses (clutches to them like security blanket) and keeps his fake smile pasted in every scene. Can someone tell him, yo dude you look okay every 5 minutes? Ananya is this bloggers favorite and this movie was the one where she makes money so that she can do some good ones later on .. hopefully.
AANKHON KI GUSTAKHIYAN - 3.0 STARS. G.
Aankhon ki dustakhiyaan - trailer
Directed by - Santosh Singh
Starring - Vikrant Massey, Shanaya Kapoor
If you don't want a typical love story, here you go. You get an atypical love story. Happy? ummm... not really. So what do you want? This one is a poetic love story of over poetic proportions. A blind man falling in love with a 'gandhari' kind of character, who is forcing herself to experience blindness. Later the complications are even more blinding as they had an affair without any of them looking at each other. You know why... right.. one is blind one is forced herself into blindness for the time period. got it? No? okay good, go watch the movie. Sad songs happen, years pass but love won't give, people over hear people and they are back in the same city... you know you have seen all that. So you get your typical love story with backdrop of an atypical plot.
Not a bad one, just a little too far fetched. Vikrant Massey underplays his blindness don't know if it was good or bad. Shanaya Kapoor is someone's someone but did a good job and looked the part for a love story.
PARAM SUNDARI - 2.5 STARS. G.
Directed by - Tushar Jalota
Starring - Sidharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor
If you have seen the trailer, you have seen the movie. It is Chennai express that is going off tracks. Sidharth Malhotra has never cared to act but still has always looked cute and bearable, in this one he is completely off the rails. He doesn't know what to do. Janhvi a good actor is also off color.
South vs North love story where the guy goes to south to woo the girl and the town. Very childish stuff happens in the south Indian town to get the girl in the name of love. Now that I relive it while typing this, I can declare this is the worst of the love stories we have reviewed this cycle.
BHAAGHI 4 - 3.5 STARS. R.
Directed by - A. Harsha
Starring - Tiger Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Harnaaz Sandhu, Sonam Bajwa
Baaghi the franchise that started with a great first one and as the franchises go kept getting worse. The 4th edition, which is surprising that someone still keeps making them is actually better than the third one for sure. Just watch the trailer and you will find that it is completely ridiculous in every sense. But someone did write up a story that is a little different. Baaghi does stay true to it's roots, it should be an action packed thriller love story with twists and a one liner repeated again and again. It gives you all of it. Tiger who has had may cringy one liners which are also good like - dusro ko aati nahi, meri jaati nahi.. heropanti. Similarly in this one he says - Dimaag nahi Dil. whenever people yell at him - dimaag hila hua hai kya tera.... Now if you like this kind of stuff, go and watch it. I don't mind this mindless stupidity. At least it has no ulterior political motive. It is a pure fantasyland action.
Tiger is looking for his girl friend after a head injury, is he hallucinating or was it all true and is everyone in his life is making him a 'yeda'. check it out.
EK CHATUR NAAR - 2.0 STARS. PG.
Directed by - Umesh Shukla
Starring - Divya Khosla Kumar, Neil Nitin Mukesh
Divya khosla has to stop making movies all about herself. I understand she has a producer husband, does not mean you just make a one woman bachchan-esque self indulgent movies. I will dance, I will be cute, I will be angry, I will be poor, I will be traumatized, I will be psycho. The movie is okay, but you over act and make it all about yourself. If she acts in some side roles and gets her fill for acting, it will be great for everyone. Neil Nitin Mukesh has come from somewhere and is going to go back where he came from. He does not know why he came back to acting, oh well I know, he got a call to act in a movie that he never expected.
The movie is about this gal, who has been done wrong and she is going to plot an unbelievable plot to take revenge on everyone and run away with everything.
NISHAANCHI - 1 AND 2 - 4.5 STARS. PG13
Directed by - Anurag Kashyap
Starring - Aaishvary Thackeray, Vedika Pinto, Monika Panwar, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Vineet Kumar Singh
Anurag Kashyap is back!! He is back as a director! yay!! I hope that also means end of his embarrassing acting career. Nishaanchi 1 and 2 is a 5 hour saga that should have been made into a web series than a movie with 2 parts. Anurag works best with new comers, and these new comers do an awesome job, he also returns to his comfort zone of north Indian underbelly of underworld politician nexus. This is where it looks all too familiar. Nishanchi 1 starts slow and builds very slowly, but slowly it builds into an engrossing plot.It grows on you, and if you did not give up in the first hour then it will start gripping you. By the end of one you can't stop and the second is mandatory and Nishaanchi 2 take you by scruff of your neck and won't give an inch to breathe. The last hour is engrossing edge of seat drama, you are choked up and exhausted and the ending is a last ball six that is needed after 5 hours of marathon. Good job Anurag. The music is awesome and it is one big fat album to listen to later after the movie ends.
The movie is about Aaishvary kid who plays double role of twin brothers with opposite personalities, it has shades of Deewar with one brother becoming a criminal and the other one trying to stay honest by his mom's side. They both contend for the love angle of Vedika Pinto, the girl is awesome in her role as a tough nut in bad neighborhood. All of them act well but the mom takes the prize with one of the few mom roles that are as strong as this one. This could be the greatest mom role ever in Indian cinema. Good job Anurag sir.
HOMEBOUND - 4.5 STARS. PG13.
Directed by - Neeraj Ghaywan
Based on A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway
by Basharat Peer
Starring - Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, Janhvi Kapoor
A out and out Art movie and a good one at that. Two friends one is a muslim, the other low caste. Born with a disadvantage but still want to live and dream, if that was not enough pandemic hits. A perfect plot for catastrophe. Neeraj Ghaywan has a knack of making you cry, so if you give him a plot as juicy as this, he will hit you with a tear jerker. The movie is not all sad, it does have it's moments of life and happiness. Ishaan and Vishal show us they are actors and if you give them something to emote for, they are as good as anyone in the business.
SUNNY SANSKARI KI TULSI KUMARI - 2.5 STARS. G
Sunny Sanskari ki Tulsi Kumari - trailer
Directed by - Shashank Khaitan
Starring - Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Saraf
Another love story, tis the season of average love stories. This one comes with bad acting so it is a perfect Bollywood affair. Varun Dhawan who has fallen off a cliff when it comes to acting, not that he ever promised much. But you can tell he doesn't care anymore, he knows these movies will keep coming and he has to mouth the same lines in same way, he never has a characterization, he plays the garbage Varun Dhawan in every movie.
The movie is about Sunny and Tulsi on the rebound trying to stop their Exes from getting married. Sanya Malhotra still tries hard to get some semblance of acting in this one, but other including Janhvi are just going for looks and bad styling.
GREATER KALESH - 4.0 STARS. G.
Directed by - Aditya Chandiok
Starring - Ahsaas Channa
This is like the cute Christmas family movie, but set in India over Diwali. All characters in the family are cute and well thought out. The parents and brother of the protagonist are good actors and make a great family. Girl comes back to home for Diwali and all "kalesh" breaks lose. Dad might be having an affair, Mom is going to leave the house, Brother has an affair that no one knows about, and she herself has her own baggage to unload on them. All within the Diwali weekend. Welcome to a cute loving nest called Family.
THAMMA - 2.5 STARS. G
Directed by - Aditya Sarpotdar
Starring - Ayushmann Khurrana, Rashmika Mandanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Paresh Rawal
A movie called 'Stree' started the horror comedy trend and now we have to pay the tax with all the movies that are in this genre. Ayushman is not comfortable, Rashmika is okay but Nawazzuddin is the worst of them all. This great actor brings the entire movie down by his antics that don't gel what is needed in the movie. Probably the Director bears the brunt of this fiasco too. Paresh Rawal and the lady playing Ayushman's mom save the day with their comedy.
The movie is about vampires and humans coexisting, and once a vampire lives amongst humans there are very standard comedy that can be had from it. Mediocre direction and insipid acting let's the movie down.
EK DIWANE KI DIWANIYAT - 2.75 STARS. PG.
Ek Diwane Ki Diwaniyat - Trailer
Directed by - Milap Zaveri
Starring - Harshvardhan Rane, Sonam Bajwa
This sad but hilarious movie is one of a kind. If you are bored of the typical Hindi movies please watch this one. It is anything but typical, well in a bad way. First time in Hindi movies a female lead announces on national TV that she will sleep with the guy who kills the person she asks them to kill. This does not activate law enforcement, or laughter, or people wondering if she is okay. BUT they actually decide to follow through as if the deal will be sealed. No one is asking how? If I kill someone wont I first go to Jail? then when am I going to sleep with you... small details. Well thinking of the Indian masses, going nuts on everything now a days its not far fetched.
Harshvardhan Rane is a random B grade actor who suddenly got this movie out of no where. He is actually not bad and not great. Sonam Bajwa is pretty good actor. The movie is about how Indian love is about how much a man craves a woman. They have progressed from movie Darr to this one, at least in this one at the end they do have a realization that this idea is not that great. The guy has decided he is in love and he craves this woman and that means he loves and no one should stop him. The entire India also agrees including the girls, if any of these girls got a psycho like this character after them they may realize it is not that great an idea to define love like that. But who cares.
HAQ - 4.0 STARS. PG.
Directed by - Suparn Verma
Starring - Yami Gautam Dhar, Emraan Hashmi, Vartika Singh, Sheeba Chaddha
The takeaway from this movie is that Yami Gautam is a great actor. She makes the movie better than it is. It is a Hindutva dream come true, trying to fix what is wrong in Muslim society. Strange are the ways of hate. Sometimes you love to see progress in the people you hate, just because it gives you a reason to hate them more.
The movie is about 1980s Shah Bano case where a Muslim woman went to court challenging her husband's divorce methods and demands alimony. Well made movie by Suparna Verma, not very factual as the people involved were not as young as they are shown but who cares, it does bring the emotions and highlights a fight led by this brave woman.
BARAMULLA - 3.0 STARS. R.
Directed by - Aditya Suhas Jambhale
Starring - Manav Kaul, Bhasha Sumbli
We have seen enough Kashmir movies, that as soon as you see a Kashmir theme you assume it's going to be terrorism. Surprisingly this is worse, this is some supernatural bhoot pret movie in Kashmir. And you thought you knew everything about Hindi movies. Though it does use Kashmiri pandit plight to tell a story about revenge and super natural thriller all mixed together. Not a bad attempt at it. You want to be surprised? Go ahead and watch it.
DE DE PYAAR DE 2 - 2.0 STARS. G.
Directed by - Anshul Sharma
Starring - Ajay Devgn, R. Madhavan, Rakul Preet Singh
De de pyaar de was never something that needed a sequel, but I guess some people mistakenly walked into that theater and gave the makers a belief that they had made a great movie that should deserve a sequel, so here we are with another Ajay Devgan comedy. I don't think there is anything worse in Bollywood than a Ajay Devgan making his weird comical faces in name of comedy. AND to be worse amongst Bollywood things is tough. So thank you Ajay, but please please stop.
The movie is about an older man, younger girl in love. They go to Girl's parent's place and the groom is almost the age of parents which creates a natural situation for comedy, Rakul Preet and Ajay are trying to drag the movie down but the side characters are pretty good to keep the comedy going, like Madhavan and Javed Jaffrey.
RAAT AKELI HAI - THE BANSAL MURDERS - 3.0 STARS. PG.
Directed by - Honey Trehan
Starring - Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Shweta Tripathi, Aditya Srivastava, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shivani Raghuvanshi
Another sequel and another step down. I think the first one was a taut tight thriller and this one is an okay one. Radhika has nothing to do in this one, that probably takes an accomplished actor out of it. Nawazuddin is good at cop roles, and as Jatil he has a character that is nicely etched but his personal life is repetitive and forced, the relation with mom and Radhika Apte is not as engaging.
The movie is about mass murder in a business family, whodunnit. Many suspects, as the first sequel, people don't care about truth but Jatil wants the truth. It's okay affair, and as always I advice you to watch it while doing dishes or an online meeting at your work.
WEB SERIES
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THE FAMILY MAN SEASON 3 - 2.5 STARS. PG13.
Genre - Espionage, Action thriller, Black comedy
Created by - Raj & DK
Starring - Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nimrat Kaur
Another sequel and another step down, actually 2 steps down. The Family Man was a series that was famous for it's family part of it, so this one just has the family and co worker jokes stuck into it in various intervals which almost look like made for the reels. Not that free flowing plot. The intelligence agents no more look real and the plots no more look manageable as they keep getting elaborate and big. The plots are now as big as they are for Pathaan, and Jawaan and WAR type of movies. But the heroes are still family men who are ordinary looking. Something is amiss in this one.
DELHI CRIME SEASON 3 - 2.0 STARS. PG13
Genre - Crime Drama
Directed by - Richie Mehta, Tanuj Chopra
Starring - Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang
ANOTHER sequel and another disappointment, this one is done and dusted. It's over. All the characters are jaded and tired, I mean are supposed to be looking Jaded and tired in the stories too, but they also make you the same. The plot itself is a problem, a huge girl trafficking scheme makes you cringe. Too realistic portrayal of Shefali and Rasika makes it real but also very depressing. Villain Huma Qureshi normally an accomplished actor is completely off color and does not jell at all. An over the top villain like in a Subhash Ghai blockbuster, is not a good idea when the web series is shot realistically and all other characters are just plain simple real.
SEARCH: NAINA MURDER CASE - 3.5 STARS. PG13.
Search - Naina murder case - trailer
Genre - Crime Drama
Based on The Killing - by Søren Sveistrup
Directed by - Rohan Sippy
Starring - Konkona Sen Sharma, Shraddha Das, Shiv Panditt, Surya Sharma
I am not even sure if this one had a first one, but seems like the sequel is better! A very well made search for a missing girl. Great chemistry between Konkana and new comer Shiv Panditt. The old school vs new comer subtle comic scenes are well done. The search itself is interesting, Konkana's family issues are kind of overdone in many web series but still are okay not cringe. This one is the best web series to watch in this time frame for sure.
