Wednesday, July 6, 2016

'Sultan' ... my review!



'Sultan' is an inspiring film. For all those despairing parents out there, who worry about their kids, take heart from the fact that, even at the ripe age of 30, for the sake of love, you can learn a totally new sport like Kushti and go on to win a gold medal at the Olympics:-)
'Sultan' could so easily have been called 'Salman', because the movie celebrates Sallu Bhai, who literally carries the the film on his pudgy shoulders!

Director Ali Abbas Zafar ensures that 'Sultan' has all the ingredients to make a very watchable film ...

Love for Aarfa, a spunky, female Haryanvi wrestler, portayed superbly by Anushka Sharma, makes Sultan (Salman Khan) learn wrestling from scratch and voila, next thing you know, he is winning gold medals at every international event!!!

It is always uplifting to see a desi movie highlighting a sport, where the underdog, goes on to become a champion.

This includes watching Salman Khan in tiny black chaddis. Those slim lean hips, which make the gaaon ki choris whistle and cheer ... very sexy and definitely expertly photoshopped!!!

A delightful desi romance, with motorcycle rides across green fields and sipping on glasses of ganne ka ras!!!

Special mention of the actor who plays Sultan's loyal friend, who will make you feel like giving your bestie a hug, the very cool Amit Saad, as the dude who gives Sultan his comeback chance and may I add, the very hot and charismatic Ranadeep Hooda, as the uncompromising trainer, who whips Sultan back to shape and into a champion again.

Director Abbas gives us what we love seeing ...

the ups and downs of a Champion, the fight for respect and redemption and that 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' moment!!!

'Sultan' may not be the best sports based film made, but it is a pleasant watch. A tad too long, your butt may get restless on your seat, at times, but you will also find yourself jiggling your backside, to the weird steps of 'Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai'!!!

PS: The irony of 'Sultan', is that, while the movie is all about seeking forgiveness and redemption, when the viewer hears Rahat's melodious voice in the 'Jag Ghoomeya ...' song, instead if Arijit Singh, you realise that Salman Khan has not forgiven talented singer, Arijit, despite his fervent apologies.

PPS: Respect for my favorite film critic, Raja Sen, who has refused to see 'Sultan' and review it, in protest against Salman Khan's insensitive "raped woman" remark and worse still, his refusal to offer an apology.

Monday, June 27, 2016

My review of 'Udta Punjab' ...


The opening scene of Udta Punjab, where a packet of drugs, is thrown like a discus, over the border, prepares you for what lies ahead ...

I must confess that I strayed from my first-day-first-show formula, because I feared that Udta Punjab would be an unpleasant and depressing watch.

But kudos to Director Abhishek Chaubey, who while giving us a stark, accurate, but scary image of Punjab, as a drug infested state, skilfully narrates a story, which inspires fear and horror in the viewer, less because of the violent or brutal scenes, but because of the way human lives are wasted and destroyed, because of political ambition and human greed.

A fairly long film, but time never sits heavily on the viewer, who is engaged by the four principal characters and their kahanis, all related to drugs.
An outstanding performance, by Shahid Kapur, as the over-the-top, drugs using popstar, Tommy, who falls from grace and subsequent to his arrest and meltdown, becomes vulnerable and tries to find redemption in rescuing the hockey-playing-Bihari-immigrant, who, despite her horrifying story, stands strong and optimistic!

Hats off to Aalia Bhatt for fearlessly taking on the role of a poor farm worker, who chances upon a packet of drugs, gets greedy and is transported to a living hell of drug addiction, rape and abuse. The viewer is fully convinced of the ugliness of her situation and her helplessness... not once do we see the pretty, pampered heroine of 'Kapoor and Sons', or 'SOTY'.

Diljit Dosanjh, as ASI Sartaj, a small time cop, who participates in the corrupt system, which allows the free flow if drugs in the state, until his brother becomes a victim.

This is one talented dude, sincere and understated and when he finally plays 'good cop', the audience cheer him on!

And Diljit can sing too ... my favorite song ... 'ikk kudi ...'!!!

Ok, so Kareena Kapoor, as the fine Doctor Preet, who along with Sartaj, wages a war against drugs, may not have as powerful a role as the the others, but she is pretty, well intentioned and the adorable, slightly filmi romance, offers welcome relief, when the viewing gets grim.

Amit Trivedi's music is brilliant and relevant for this very gritty and brave film.

'Udta Punjab' is an important film. Yes, set in Punjab, but could apply to any place in India. Chaubey, with a tight script and twisted tale, tells a grim, but real story and announces his arrival, as a director to watch out for. The director has a clear message ... unless you fight it, no drug related story can have a happy ending.

But the viewer has a choice ... to walk out of the cinema hall, with the sound of Balli's helpless tears, ringing in their ears, or the happy sound of the waves, on a beach in Goa, with a smiling 'Mary Jane', walking towards the beautiful sunset!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

We Are The Millers - review

‘We Are The Millers’ - this has to be the most predictable story of the year. A drug dealer, who needs to smuggle his stuff across the border, realizes it will work better if he has a family with him & puts together a pretend family, consisting of a stripper, a dorky teenager and a homeless rebel. Yawn … no prizes here, for guessing what happens next! Yep, post many misunderstandings, fights, awkwardness … they all fall in love with each other and actually live happily, well if not ever after, at least till we leave the theater!
But picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost! Strangely, despite all this, the movie works, as a pleasant, slightly raunchy, definitely not brain-stimulating, but still fun & feel-good comedy, only because the star cast, led by SNL veteran, Jason Sudeikis & our favorite Friend, Jennifer Aniston, rise above the mediocre script!
Va-va-voom Jenny heats up the screen & sizzles as a stripper, who desperately needs the money, which Jason tempts her with, to take up his bizarre proposition. She may be separated from Brad Pitt, but she certainly has mastered the ‘Benjamin Button’ trick, because this babe is looking younger & more dangerous, every time you see her! Yet, she switches to playing ‘mommy of the year’ with ease, if you are not too shocked watching her & her fake daughter, played neatly by Emma Roberts, give her false son, some steamy kissing lessons!!!

Jason Sudeikis has perfect timing, manages to make you smile, laugh and believe in happy endings – glad that his film career has had a decent take-off, justifying his exit from Saturday Night Live!
The two young guns, Poulter, as the nerdy son & the fierce Emma Roberts, as the daughter, manage to hold their own against Aniston & Jason Sudeikis.

No Oscar winner, this one, nor will you remember it, a while after you have left the cinema hall, but still, immensely watchable, worth it, just for Jennifer’s strip act, to prove to the baddies, that she is a stripper & not Mrs. Miller, great Time-Pass & won’t be a bad idea to sit through the credits which roll at the end of the movie, against the backdrop of bloopers, just to watch Jennifer Aniston grin uncontrollably, as the Miller Family suddenly belt out the “Friends” theme song – ‘I’ll be there for you’ – you may find yourself humming along with them!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Annas & Akkas ... board the Chennai Express!

Ok, this one's a mixed bag, so Annas & Akkas, Thambis & Thangachis, lend me your eyes & ears!
btw, you can hop on the Chennai Yexpress, travel all the way to Kombam Village & still, the mystery of Deepika’s weird Tamizh accent, remains unsolved! It makes you miss the stereo typed, Padosan-wala-Bollywood-Tamil!

Also, this a public service message - wear dark glasses, because the new villages of Tamilnadu, which have sprouted out of the blue, like Telengana, are a riot of unreasonable colours & you may get blinded!

Allow me to also plead the case of the Tamizh Male. Contrary to what CE suggests, all the men in Tamilnadu, are not scary, shiny skinned, dark, hairy, pot-bellied men, sporting fierce meeshais/moochas & carrying sickles and daggers! There are normal, regular, good looking dudes – I should know, having married one!

Yeah, yeah, so it’s all about Periya Thailaivar, goondas & the rural, spa like setting, but this train ride reflects Twitter sensibilities & Santa-Banta moments!

Rahul’s (surprise, surprise, played by SRK!) Dadaji misses a century, dies at 99, watching Tendulkar miss his 100, by a run & Rahul consoles himself that his grandfather lived a full life, ‘All India Radio ke Zamane Se, Twitter Tak!’

A spoof on the famous railway station sequence of DDLJ, with a twist – while SRK, Rahul ishtyle, gives a pretty, dhavani clad Deepika, a leg up into the running train, he also generously helps four scary looking thugs, who are kidnapping her, with the same enthusiasm!

We’ve all seen the trailer, gasped at Deepika’s Tamil, learned that down South, men wear only veshtis & lungis , Tamizh girls have names like ‘Meena Lochani’, that her Appa is an unreasonable Don, who wants to get his daughter married to a groom of his choice & SRK, gets offended when asked whether he knows Tamil – “Tamizh Teri-a-ma”, is interpreted as a ‘Teri Maa’ gaali – yeah, Rohit Shetty packs the movie with jokes, most which we’ve heard already on Facebook or whatsapp!

So where does SRK fit in, in this typical South based, Rohit Shetty comedy? Surprisingly, quite well - the actor’s ability to laugh at himself, not take his star act too seriously & to play the kinda anti-hero, who gets bullied by the goondas, teased mercilessly as a common halwaai, by Deepika & beaten up by the villain, works well for him, in this out ‘n out comedy, where logic takes a back seat & reason is thrown out of the train window!

The accent may grate, but Deepika looks certainly don’t! Here’s a prediction for the fashion gurus – Ms Padukone elevates ‘dhavanis’/half-saris to the platform of high, cutting-edge fashion!
While she may not be the finest actor in Bollywood, Deepika looks comfortable, travels through the insane plot with ease, with her sometimes on, sometimes off, inexplicable accent!

If you don’t ask some logical questions, like why Rahul or Meena could not look for an airport, instead of inviting trouble, traveling by road, the first half of CE, packed with action, comedy, one liners and lots of fun antakshari, used as a code language, moves briskly.

What is irritating, is the over-kill of the South factor – so much bad Tamil, fictitious little villages, where strange customs exist, like having to carry your bride across 300 steps, after which Deepika becomes all starry eyed & eagerly in love, which brings out the ham in SRK, the never ending chase by the villains & the final fight scene, which went on, till we panicked that the director had forgotten to say “cut”!

Certainly not an unforgettable journey, but who the cares?! Board the ‘Chennai Express’ anyway & simbly yenjoy!

But SRK, please promise us, that after this movie, ‘Tum aisa bakwaas Tamil, kabhi nahin bolegi!!!
— with Ashok Kaushik.

Friday, July 5, 2013

All that glitters ... watch out for the 'Bling Ring'!

You could dismiss ‘Bling Ring’, as an absurd story, about a bunch of ambitious, aspiring, immoral teenagers, who get their kicks out of invading the houses of the rich ‘n famous, helping themselves to cash, jewellery, clothes, trinkets, shoes .... & Sofia Coppola could have called the movie, ‘Girls & one guy, just wanna have fun!’
But then, we are informed that Coppola got her inspiration from real life events & suddenly, this documentary like movie, assumes scary dimensions, which inspires more fear, than a scary horror flick...

Post ‘Bling Ring’, a lot of parents are going to be checking in 24x7, on the whereabouts of their kids – where they once worried about the safety of their children, rave parties, drugs, reckless driving, they now need to assure themselves that their children are not breaking into celebrity homes & helping themselves to things which do not belong to them ... oh well, let’s just say it, ‘stealing’!

Visually, quite heady to get a peek-a-boo into the lives of the glitterati – Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom, Lindsay Lohan (like she doesn’t have enough problems of her own!) ...

The modus operandi is simple. The Bling Ring checks out if any star is out of town, simply pick up their address from the net & then break in – in some cases, they don’t have to trouble themselves too much, because apparently rich celebrities like Paris & Orlando, leave their doors & windows wide open, have no security or burglar alarms – quite surprising & glad tidings, for criminal across the globe!

The chilling part is that this gang of misguided youth, headed by Rebecca (Katie Chang) & her friend, Marc, which includes a sister pair, one of them being our own Hermione, Emma Watson, feel no guilt or fear at what they are doing. They just experience a heady rush & the money, outfits, the lifestyle which they borrow, puts a spring in their steps, makes them popular & the only problem they seem to have to find place in their houses to hide the spoils of their crimes – makes you wonder why none of their parents notice their designer clothes, Louboutin shoes, Birkin bags & fat purses, bursting with money!
Forget keeping it low key, the Bling Ring lives it up, partying & openly telling their friends, about about their escapades & proudly posting their pictures on facebook.

FINALLY, the cops put all the pieces of the very public puzzle, catch up with the gang & arrest a couple of them. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry, when Nicki, played by Emma Watson, puts it down to a ‘learning experience’ & expresses her hopes of becoming a ‘world leader’!!! Nor do you buy Marc’s tear jerker story, of how there is no place in the social map of a teenager, for anyone who is not hot or good looking – as an explanation about his part in the crimes of the Bling Ring!
The adult in you also worries, whether this story, about how easy it is to take to a life of crime, without getting caught, while your parents and guardians are clueless, may send the wrong signals to a lot of youngsters out there, who are impressionable, socially awkward and looking for a way out of their dull lives!

The rationale part of my brain tells me that it is just a movie, but I still would follow my instincts & advise any parents of youngsters, who have watched the movie, to sit down with their kids, discuss the ‘Bling Ring’ & caution them that, all that glitters, cannot be robbed!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Read the book, seen the movie & in case anyone is interested, for me, the book scored over the movie!
Mira Nair gets some parts right & then there are those jarring notes, despite the beautiful, haunting music, which flows through the film.

Riz Ahmed, as Changez Khan, deftly handles the journey, from being a young lad, from an upper crust family in Pakistan, which falls upon hard times, to effortlessly living the American dream – Ivy League college, dream job as a consultant with a leading firm on Wall Street, finding love with an American photographer (Kate Hudson, who looks unnecessarily old & unfit) & on the fast track, to the top of the corporate ladder, as the blue eyed boy of his boss/mentor, played efficiently by Keifer Sutherland.
So far, so good - until the horror of 9/11 happens & suddenly, life in the US, as a Muslim, is not a bed of roses for Changez. Like in the book, he articulates that, shocked as is, while witnessing the ruthless crashing of the twin towers, there is an irrational part of him, which smiles, almost as if pleased, at what is happening.

The events that follow, where Changez, because he is a Muslim, is the target of suspicion, the object of hatred, in the US and is humiliated & strip searched at the airport, don’t seem enough reason for him, to suddenly lose interest in his career, grow a beard & moustache, to highlight his being Islamic, despite the gentle hints by his boss, that his appearance is a cause of concern & after a dream promotion, abandon it all defiantly, to go back to his motherland. Riz Ahmed conveys more hurt, at being betrayed by his lover, rather than by America! Unlike in the book, here, the viewer is left with the lingering regret that he is so near, yet so far, thanks to his own actions, from attaining his childhood dream!

Back in Pakistan, the disillusioned Changez, despite his family’s disapproval, joins a local college as a lecturer, voices his new found distaste of the Americans & tries to arouse nationalism & pride in the youth of Pakistan.

Mohsin Hamid, created a silent American, to whom Changez narrates his story – Mira Nair transforms the mute stranger, to a journalist, who works for the CIA, played crisply, by Liev Schrieber, who is trying to investigate, if Changez is responsible for the kidnapping of an American academician, who is suspected to have links with the CIA.

Mira Nair brings her signature, larger than life, ethnic tone to the film – with Shabana Azmi and Om Puri, as Changez’s parents, their decaying upper middle class existence, the hip, westernised sister, the musical soirees, with sublime Sufi music ...

But unlike the book, the movie, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, made me, the viewer, ‘The Relcutant Believer”!








Saturday, June 22, 2013

Now You See Me, enjoying, Now You See Me!

Sometimes you need to forget logic, perfect story, coherent plot, slick direction ... & surrender to the kid in you, which just wants to enjoy a big summer film, full of magic, an impossible bank heist, pulled off on stage, in front of an audience, indulgently enjoy the eye candy of a great ensemble cast, led by Mr Incredible Hulk, Mark Rufalo & that Bollywood formula, of revenge & justifying robbing from the rich, by giving it back to the people....
On paper, ‘Now you See Me’, has the makings of an epic movie; four magicians, a mentalist (Woody Harrelson), an illusionist (our pretty shopaholic, Isla Fisher), a conjurer (Jesse Eissenberg – quite a jump, from playing a real-life character, facebook creator Marc Zuckerberg, to a magician!) & a card trickster (young David Franco) are brought together to use their combined skills, to rob a bank or two!

Enter Mark Rufalo, the cop on duty and his gorgeous Interpol colleague, who valiantly chase our friendly neighbourhood magicians, who amazingly always are a couple of steps ahead of them.

Oh yes, there is Morgan Freeman, who is the decoder of the magic tricks, Michael Caine, whose presence is a mystery & we still need to figure out the Robin Hood angle of looting the rich & giving back to the not-so-rich & the identity of the person who creates this magical army!

So maybe that why the movie falters a bit – too much in too little time! You don’t really get to sink your teeth into any of the characters because there are too many of them (I personally would have like more time with Mark Rufalo!) & you lose sight of the plot after a while.

But the optimist in me looked at this interesting mes, as the glass being half full – these are great actors & for the price of a ticket, you get to feast your eyes on all of them, thrill at the magic & illusions, enjoy the robber-cop chases, though a tad confused as to who you are cheering, the police or the criminals & while the movie gives you broad hints, it is fun to discover who the brain behind it all is & unravel the ‘Kab, Kyon, Kahaan’ of this cute little whodunit of sorts!

Now You Can See, why I liked seeing, ‘Now You See Me!’