POPULAR BOLLYWOOD
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HASEEN DILLRUBA - 4.0 Stars. (PG-13)
Actors - Taapsee Apnnu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane.
Very good taut thriller for the second half. How I wish I started the movie after the half time! This is a tale of 2 movies, the first one is the usual middle class comedy which has become a common place in today's bollywood. Arranged marriage, with groom being a decent submissive scared guy and girl is a little more outgoing confident girl. Both are incompatible but now are married, throw in a funny Dad and Mom who are not that funny as earlier movies that have shown this enough times. The movie drags on for a good one hour when we know all along from the first shot that the wife is being accused of murdering her husband. Why would you stretch the inconsequential things so long? Do we have to get a long movie in today's bollywood? After the first half movie picks up pace, like any thriller we are taken on a nice bumpy thriller. Whodunnit? Were the couple estranged? was there a third wheel? Did wife have an extra marital affair? Were the couple in love? Did they hate each other?
Taapsee generally an awesome actor is ok in this one, Vikrant Massey has his favorite role of being the submissive middle class husband, but shows his acting class in a few scenes he has to become mean as he effortlessly changes gears.
THE WEDDING GUEST - 4.0 Stars. (PG-13)
Director / Writer - Michael Winterbottom
Stars - Dev Patel, Radhika Apte, Jim Sarbh
Trailer - The Wedding Guest
Dev Patel is buffed and looking good. The production is high class, it is a full on Hollywood movie made in India. Technically it is not even a hindi movie, but we here on this blog never worry about rules, I watched it and I am reviewing it.
Dev carries the movie on his shoulder and does a great job. He plays a British hit man who is hired to pick a girl from Pakistan and deliver her across the border in India to her Boy Friend. If you have Radhika Apte in a movie she cannot be playing a regular girl, and this movie is not special. Radhika is scheming, Dev is a schemer by profession and the Boy Friend who has set all this in motion, he is Mr Jim Sarbh. Another guy who never can play a regular guy. Obviously he is scheming too!
The movie is so authentic in depicting India, you feel like you are right there walking on the roads, real neighborhoods, real people and real locations! An Indian movie will never be able to do this.
ROOHI - 3.5 Stars. (PG13)
Finally we start feeling a little jaded and tired of the great Rajkummar Rao's portrayal of funny, but deficient, ordinary but likeable guy. He has had his fill. Too many of the same, this is his "Rahul" of SRK, and "Vijay" of Bachchan, one too many! It is getting old now, this time he does not inspire the awe he generally does. It has started becoming predictable, but the movie is not 'his' the movie clearly belongs to another great actor in 'Janhvi Kapoor'. After Dhadak and Gunjan Saxena she decides to dive into role of a 'Bhoot', you need some confidence to play a 4 eyed rusty skin bhoot early in your career. She does a great job playing herself and the Bhoot together. Then there is Mr Varun Sharma who is carrying on his 'Chucha' character. I still don't get bored of it somehow. He does evoke laughter, and is mostly likeable without getting on your nerves. Overall the movie is bogged down because of it feels a little too much like "stree" but is still a good watch.
SARDAR KA GRANDSON - 2.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Kaashvi Nair
Writers - Anuja Chauhan, Amitosh Nagpal, Kaashvi Nair
I really want to know why someone will write a story about an entire home to be picked from one country to another. Why would you write it? Maybe you saw a documentary showing how some homes are built in one place and placed in the location they are needed? Is it possible to take a 100 year old brick structure 1000s of miles away on a truck??? I am very confused why would someone base an entire movie on this. WHY!
Anyway weirder things have happened, someone did decide to make this movie and cast Arjun Kapoor to pump life into this impossible fairy tale. Arjun generally sucks the life out of any movie, so this was not a challenge for him. Neena Gupta for a change also over acts and makes a mockery of her makeup and trying to play 90+ year old "sardar". I can't go on, I can't get over a lot of things in this movie. Watch it if you want to help me answer a few questions.
RADHE - 0 Stars. (PG13).
Director - Prabhu Deva
Stars - Salman Khan, Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda
Enough has been talked and written about this movie, than it deserves. I had zero emotions watching the movie.
No I did not get mad.
No I did not get amused.
No it was not so bad that it's good.
No I did not hate on sallu.
No I did not wonder why this is made.
Yes I did wonder Why I am doing this to me.
Yes I did get happy that this lazy old school hindi industry based on one actor's tired moves is dying.
Yes I did feel bad for a talented Randeep Hooda.
Yes I did wonder what else can Sallu do when he realizes finally this is not working.
Yes, I wondered this is probably a third sallu Zero on my blog.
Overall I was not happy, sad, excited, irritated. I was there....
KOI JAANE NA - 4.0 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Amin Hajee
Stars - Kunal Kapoor, Amyra Dastur, Elli Avrram
Kunal Kapoor is back from wherever he had gone. The movie scores big time in uniqueness, I won't be surprised if the movie has been lifted from some other language. It is very different and a good thriller. A quick search did not reveal this movie to be an obvious copy, so I will give huge kudos to writers and directors for making a very different psychological thriller, the genre I absolutely hate because it gives creator a license for stupidity.
The movie is about a writer who writes about serial killers, but killings happen around him too. Is he doing them? Is he the super hero of his novels? Is his girl friend in danger more than he is? What the heck is going on? Yup, that's what a thriller is ... right?
SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR - 4.0 Stars. (PG13)
Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar - Trailer
Director - Dibakar Banerjee
Stars - Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat
As long time readers of this blog know, I am a Parineeti fan so some bias is inbuilt. Parineeti has been given a good big canvas to paint her masterpiece, after 'Girl on the train' she is again in her element. The bigger surprise is Mr Pinky - Arjun Dud Kapoor who gives a good performance. Someone has given him a great accent and he carries it well.
Movie is about Pinky (Arjun) and Sandy (Parineeti) who end up together in a car trying to flee from a common enemy even though they themselves were supposed to be enemies. Things unfurl as they try to dodge the inevitable. It's a typical 'couple on the run' movie, but it holds your interest and has a pretty good script. Again.... remember we used to get a 'Radhe' every few months, now we get these movies that are well written and executed. I am not complaining! Watch it.
MUMBAI SAGA - 2.5 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Sanjay Gupta
Stars - John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Mahesh Manjrekar
Remember Sanjay Gupta? Yes, all the stylish stupid movies were made by him 2 decades ago. One thing is for sure, people don't change. You don't suddenly grow as a director after decades, I can guarantee that. I am sure Sanjay did not go to a cave and hone his skills for years to come out and make this thing. He was sitting in his living room yelling at the TV and eating samosa when someone called him and said, let's make another of our masterpiece, yes same thing .. yes again! He wiped the chutney from his hands and said ok find a financier who needs to get rid of some money and let's do it!
Actually the movie is not that bad, it is just same old treatment about how Mumbai is run by a Thackeray look alike and he gives these gangsters a piece of Mumbai to run. These gangsters fight etc. Back biting and drama is thrown in with some one liners. John is pretty good at this thing, but he was ok this time round. Emraan is always good and he did what he could. End is bizzare and makes no sense, but it is a La Race 3 where you stop counting the twists that happen in last 10 minutes.
The Big Bull - 3.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Kookie Gulati
Stars - Abhishek Bachchan, Nikita Dutta, Ileana D'Cruz
I have heard that a very high quality TV series on Harshad Mehta already released sometime ago making this movie stale in content. I have not seen that highly acclaimed TV series so I can't compare. This movie is loosely based on Harshad Mehta's life who was the biggest name in stock market and he had a meteoric rise and later a huge fall. He was let's say a great 'Scamster'? Movies has it's moments but it doesn't flow rapidly in a nice constant stream. Abhishek tries his best and gives a pretty good performance as a lower middle class Gujrati guy who has ambitions that don't stop for anything. The uninhibited hunger for success in a man who comes from a scared middle class background is something that was different about the man. It is a good watch, if you got some time and have a fast forward button with you.
SAINA - 2.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Amole Gupte
Stars - Parineeti Chopra, Mukesh Agrohari, Olga Anand, Rohan Apte
Another sports movie, this time on life and times of Saina Nehwal. Parineeti is ok in this one, but the biggest problem is the script that does not give us drama and emotions. Unless a sports movie chokes you up with emotions it is going nowhere, no good music to keep you engaged either. A sports person's life is not complicated, a bunch of struggle, a few lucky breaks, an unexpected emotional fight with coach or Dad etc. Too many movies on these personalities have made it hard to make a movie that engages.
TIME TO DANCE - 1.0 Stars. (G)
Director - Stanley D'Costa
Stars - Sooraj Pancholi, Isabelle Kaif, Waluscha De Sousa
Claim to fame for this movie is Katrina's sister and a Pancholi is in it. Movie is very fragmented and with 2 non-actors tasked with a non-starter script is asking too much. It would have been ok boring dance movie but Rajpal Yadav single handedly makes this movie annoying unbearable unwatchable boring dance movie just by himself. Why would you make him hero's friend? How is he a friend? Why? he keeps trying to play a bihari in UK and is as annoying as you can get. He also gets the most footage in the movie... go figure!
99 SONGS - 1.5 Stars. (PG)
Director - Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy
Writers - Hussain Dalal, Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, A.R. Rahman
Stars - Ehan Bhat, Edilsy Vargas, Tenzing Dalha
A.R. Rahman wrote this story.... mmm.. a guy going crazy trying to write songs?? hmm... there is a reason Mr A.R. Rahman is not a story writer, because he can't write a story! Come On man... what are you writing! I hope this is over and we will never again see another story from you. Please do make music, even this movie is pretty good in music department.
The treatment was over the top, everything was crazy weird by purpose. Makes no sense, you keep on trying to squint and see if you are missing something deep, something mature and philosophical but nope, can't see much. I am sorry this did not click. It is a love story about a man who wants to write 100 songs to win his girl!
TUESDAY AND FRIDAY - 2.0 Stars. (PG)
Director - Taranveer Singh
Stars - Anmol Dhillon, Jhataleka Malhotra, Niki Walia
Tuesdays and Fridays - Trailer
A pure love story hardly comes by anymore. I think we had enough of those in previous decades and there is no new story to tell. This one tries to be that rare love story. Everything is well done. Acting is ok, couple is cute, music is ok, story is not completely outdated. It is a pretty contemporary love story, but still things don't gel, the magic is missing. A good try but you never feel like choking up with emotions or laughing in relief or stressed or outraged. No emotions are brewing within the viewer and hence the movie falls flat. If doing nothing give it a try though.
RAM PRASAD KI TEHRVI - 4.5 Stars. (PG)
Director - Seema Bhargava
Stars - Supriya Pathak, Konkona Sen Sharma, Parambrata Chattopad
Another masterpiece weaved around a death. Similar to 'Pagglait' in genre and treatment but different in content and presentation. Ram Prasad dies and life takes a turn for everyone associated with him. Ram Prasad's sons and their wives have things to fix. There are neighbors, brothers and sisters and everyone has some agenda. Very well done, Death is not a sad affair at all, that's a Human facade because every human thinks how sad it will be when he/she passes away, but otherwise it is all down to business of ..... Life. The movie is never sad, it is funny, dramatic and entertaining all because of true depiction of society. Watch it!
AJEEB DAASTAANS - 4.0 Stars. (R)
Directors - Neeraj Ghaywan, Kayoze Irani, Shashank Khaitan, Raj Mehta
Stars - Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nushrat Bharucha, Konkana Sen Sharma, Abhishek Banerjee, Manav Kaul, Shefali Shah, Aditi Rao Hydari
They asked 4 directors to write 'weird stories' and that's exactly what we got. If you accept the fact, the stories will be 'Ajeeb' then you will be able to love the stories. There are so many good directors and writers in Indian movies, within a couple of decades the face of Hindi movies have completely changed for the positive. Great times to be a Hindi movie fan. 3 stories are good and one is average. . All actors are incredible and they together add to each story in their own way. When you assemble a huge talented roster top to bottom it is hard to fail, and this Karan Joahr production does not! Too talented to fail.
Every story has a great unexpected ending. Majnu - Has a great thriller vibe to it. You can feel the undercurrent and you always are on the edge, is it an unsatisfied bold wife who is calling the shots or is the royal husband hiding something, is the american returned Majnu playing tricks? All of the above?
Khilauna - More and more movies are finally laying bare the 'unseen' huge population of India, the dalit working class and how kid's mind can get messed up in the mess adults live in. This was my least favorite though.
Ankahi - Shefali Shah is ever dependable playing a wife raising a kid with an uninterested husband, or so she thinks.
Geeli Puchhi - Konkana stands out as a Dalit Gay Girl, a triple whammy in pecking order of the society. Her resentment writ all over her face, the rejection she has gotten used to is palpable, but she's got a rejection of her own. Awesome ending to this one.
MADAM CHIEF MINISTER - 3.75 Stars. (PG)
Madam Chief Minister - Trailer
Director - Subhash Kapoor
Writer - Subhash Kapoor
Stars - Richa Chadha, Manav Kaul, Saurabh Shukla
Richa Chadha has a swag that few can match. She needs all her swag to carry this movie on her shoulders. Surprisingly it is not a bad movie, it felt like some old school tired movie but turned out to be a pretty good one with some nice twists to it. Story revolves around a Dalit girl who has a spunk about whatever she does. She gets picked by a righteous social leader, that starts her journey to becoming Chief Minister. The story has all the masala a political action thriller should have. Not a bad watch at all.
SHAADISTHAN - 4.5 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Raj Singh Chaudhary
Stars - Nivedita Bhattacharya, Sanjay Dadhich, Kirti Kulhari
Look, I don't like movies which are filled with 'right wing talking points' conversely I love movies when a movie talks against the old school systems of society or in other words filled with 'left wing talking points'. O well... I am jus human. I like confirming my own biases. The movie unabashedly punches the old school society which revolves around 'shaadi', a girl's life is all about shaadi. How to get over with 'the problem' that the girl is, by getting her married off. There is no other reason for her birth. Thinking of it, actually even a guy's life is all about what career he can get to, and how much money can he make for his parents and family. If he can't do it, he is not treated that well either.
The movie is about this girl who has fought and lost against an overbearing society that has parents in it's grip until she meets this group of young musicians who have formed a band and are taking her family with them in their van to a wedding. Kirti Kulhari is a good actor and she fits the role of a single girl musician in a band who cares less about traditions. As I said the movie is a little harsh on the 'shaadisthan society' but there are a few good scenes between girl's Mom and Kirti that defines the message of this enterprise. Overall if you have hated traditions you will love it, because it preaches the choir.
OUT OF LOVE - Season 2. 3.0 Stars. (PG-13)
Director - Tigmanshu Dhulia
Actors - Rasika Duggal, Purab Kohli.
The fact that I made it to the season 2 makes me believe it must not be a bad first season. The second season is more saucier and more on the edge. The estranged couple fighting for custody of their kid become more and more deranged and risque to win him over. The entire concept and treatment is not indian and I was told this is a copy of another show which explains a lot about the script which is very alien to Indian TV series. Still it is not a bad try, Rasika Duggal and Purab Kohli are great actors and they put everything into the character and that is what makes this watchable.
