Bollywood World

Mirzya Trailer


Mirzya Review

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 22nd January, 2016
Time : 124 minutes
Director, Writer: Raja Krishna Menon; Co-writers : Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia, Ritesh Shah; Music : Amaal Mallik, Ankit Tiwari
Starring : Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra, Prakash Belawadi, Purab Kohli, Feryna Wazheir, Inaam Ul Haq




In the opening scenes, Akshay and Nimrat, have some interesting, well-written conversational exchanges, the kind of sniping that most married couples would relate to and easily identify with, is very real. And then there is a belly dance item number. Most of the movie is like that � some great moments but then something filmy intrudes�but a tight script, great performances and an uplifting ending rescue the film from mediocrity



Akshay is a successful businessman based out of Kuwait, who�s not too fond of his Indian roots, has almost disowned the country of his birth. But the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi�s in 1990, changes all of that. The Kuwaiti ruling class take flight at the first opportunity, abandoning their citizens. And Akshay�s driver sacrifices himself to save his employers� life. A shaken Akshay has the opportunity to leave, escape with his wife (Nimrat) and daughter but seeing the crowd of Indian refugees outside his office, he decides to try and help�


I like the way they kept things tight, didn�t let the narrative stray too far from the main plot. And they got a fantastic ensemble cast - Kumud Mishra is brilliant as the face of the Indian bureaucracy in the Ministry of External Affairs(sadly, despite several searches, including on the Facebook page of the film, couldn�t find any photo of him in this significant role), Purab Kohli has a nice cameo as an employee, Feryna touches the right hapless note as a Kuwaiti trying to hide, Prakash Belawadi is perfect as the irritable refugee, always questioning / criticizing but never doing anything and finally, Inaam Ul Haq is outstanding as the Iraqi major, trying to do business with Akshay.


While Akshay is very good in his role, very believable, what doesn�t work is his transition � from elitist, Kuwaiti, hard-nosed, money obsessed man to caring, Indian, quiet, do-gooder � this happens too rapidly. Nimrat�s transition (she�s excellent as the questioning wife) is much better shown � critical of the new Akshay at first, she slowly begins to understand and aggressively defends him when he is criticized. The songs don�t work either � some distract / are too loud and most, even in the background, dissipate the air of tension being created.


There are several nice touches � Kumud�s meeting with the Air India pilots, his conversation with the Jordan embassy official, a small chat with his father and even his meeting with his own Minister. Akshay�s meeting with his friends, drinking scotch in the early days of the invasion, the way Nimrat questions his actions � all work, are sensitively shown. Some over the top, filmy sequences are there too but the former stay in the memory more than the latter



It wasn�t an easy film to watch, especially in the first half. I guess most of us (especially those who�ve worked abroad) find the story to be the stuff our worst nightmares are made of � and most of us knew someone who went through this or something like this. The fact that this is loosely based around someone real makes it more interesting � how many of us would�ve done the same after all � given up an opportunity to escape and stayed back to help others less fortunate ? Perhaps this one is worth watching just for that reason�

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 25th September, 2015
Time : 117 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Shivam Nair; Writer: Vikram Bhatt; Music : Various
Starring : Kunal Khemu, Zoa Morani, Manasi Scott, Mandana Karimi



Imagine the Sliding Doors principle being offered to you just when you had your balls in a vice and were being forced to do something nasty, against your will ? Kunal Khemu�s boss, Manasi, has evidence of him doing insider training and will go to the cops, unless he first befriends, and then kills Zoa. He, luckily (thanks to his mom) is given an option � lead one life assuming you did kill her and another assuming you didn�t (*T&C apply)�




Moans and Groans
The first groan escaped my lips when I realized it was �Tantrik� knowledge that led to the offer being made, complete with a wooden yet creepy Vikram Bhatt as a genie (Why?)

Also, deviating fundamentally from the principle, the scenarios do not play out identically � for example, there are guards waiting outside in one and not in another



Fundamentally, the makers had two options � either make the film realistic or to go down the logic be damned route. Unfortunately, they chose the latter but that only works when you have major star power in the film (Salman Khan, James Bond). So we see a wanted, hunted man spending time in fancy resorts, ordering pizzas, romancing women, suddenly becoming an action hero, facing cops who dont shoot and never shoot straight in any case etc.

The dialogues, especially the pick up lines (what was the door thing about ?) go from very ordinary to really bad � can�t believe any woman would find those schmaltzy lines interesting

Songs. Too many, too tuneless and very ill-timed. This is one of those films where the hero has to be introduced with an item number to show how cool he is and then will have one of those soft, romantic, Atif Aslam type numbers to show he is in love�



Likes and Spikes
Kunal, Manasi and Zoa turn in good performances. Kunal has moments where he displays good timing, facial expressions etc, Zoa is quite assured for most parts and Manasi is extremely believable as super-bitch.



In films like this it�s important to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist. Which is why, by choosing to be filmy and give rationality a miss, the makers have done this genre and their premise a disservice. I�m probably being generous by going with 5/10 � but it�s better than Katti Batti (which was a 4) and at least someone is trying something different � even if I don�t agree with the way it was executed�

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 21st August, 2015
Time : 126 minutes
Director, Writer: Umesh Shukla; Music : Sanjoy Chowdhury
Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Asin, Supriya Pathak, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub



This is an ad for the book Secrets masquerading as a movie


It�s also silly, maudlin, reliant on slapstick and ludicrousness and has one of the worst soundtracks in recent memory


Abhishek returns home from Bangkok after ten years to find his dictatorial, stingy father, Rishi Kapoor, deep in debt to the local toughie, Zeeshan Ayub, and his mother, Supriya Pathak, suffering from Alzheimers. Salvation could lie in some jewelry, left in the safe-keeping of his mother�s brother. Or the sale of his Dad�s bakery � which the Dad is fundamentally against. Thus begins a ridiculous, hare-brained �adventure�, which also involves Asin (who reads Secrets everyday), and is about to go in for an arranged marriage, but wants to get married to Abhishek, only he is too grumpy / anti-marriage (having seen his parents loveless one) to do so�


Along the way, the father-son bicker and try to resolve their issues, the toughie�s gang stumble and fumble their way around, stupid caricatures of Punjabi families abound, while Asin gives lovelorn looks and sheds silent tears.



The performances are average � the only one who impresses is Zeeshan � and the music is downright terrible. The second half, towards the end, improves a bit and does make a few valid points but it�s lost in the midst of the overall silliness. This is definitely a film that is the complete anti-thesis of its title�