Bollywood World

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 30th October, 2015
Time : 123 minutes
Director, Writer : Manish Shrivasta; Co-Writer : Amit Sial; Music : Manish Tipu;
Starring : Naseeruddin Shah, Disha Arora, Auroshikha Dey, Subrat Dutta, Nishant Lal, Siraj Mustafa, Anchal Nadrajog, Manasi Rachh, Amit Sial, Sanam Singh Talwar, Anand Tiwari



You know that old one, when to demonstrate something convoluted, the person, instead of holding his right ear with his right hand, twists his hand around the back of the head and holds the left ear instead ? Lets just say, to keep the analogy going, that in this one the person is upside down, in a bendy yoga pose, while underwater and being attacked by piranhas while attempting to hold the left ear with his left foot�that�s how complicated they make it�


The cops, led by Naseeruddin Shah, find a video recording, in some parking lot, where two men and two women end up shooting and killing each other. Along with this footage, they also find footage of some previous days, where those same characters were involved in a cocaine deal of some sort. And then they, the cops, spend the next 110 minutes trying to decipher what actually transpired�



The opening credits are quite sensuous � showing a woman (Elena Roxanna) in sexy black lingerie just lolling around. But then as soon as they end, we�re jerkily taken to this grimy parking lot and some blood, gore. Amit Sial, Nishant Lal, Manasi Rachh and Anchal are the four individuals there. Then we see the cops (Auroshikha is one of them aiding Naseeruddin Shah) trying to decipher the messy, jerky home made videos (all shot by Nishant). There is also a gangland killing, a don based out of Dubai (where else) and characters like Anand Tiwari, Subrat Dutta, Sanam Singh Talwar and Siraj Mustafa who play important roles of varying lengths.


The logical flaws with the plot are too many to recount. The video recordings are hard to watch after a while, as they are jarring, bumpy and, especially in one particular sequence, nausea-inducing. It�s also tough to believe that the characters would let themselves be filmed the way they did (even in intimate moments and conversations) by their tharki friend. What can be appreciated though, is that the actors turn in good performances and the film doesn�t stray from its rather complicated plot � it�s crisp from that POV, no unnecessary back stories or item songs.


There are shades of Usual Suspects in here, though this is not remotely a copy. It�s not a bad attempt but is made an even harder watch by too many hazy, drug snorting scenes. And I do wish there was a simpler storyline � you really have your head spinning (literally) when you leave the hall�

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 30th October, 2015
Time : 101 minutes
Director : John Wells; Writers :Michael Kalesniko; Music : Rob Simonsen;
Starring : Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl, Riccardo Scamarcio, Omar Sy, Sam Keeley, Matthew Rhys, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Alicia Vikander, Sarah Greene




Gorgeous visuals of food � both raw and cooked ingredients. Fancy plate settings, culinary flourishes. Beautiful, minimalist decor restaurants. And, as one investor exasperatedly put it, chefs who �behave like schoolgirls�.


Bradley Cooper, a two star Michelin Chef, wants to redeem himself. He�d crashed and burnt spectacularly in Paris a while back � wine, women, drugs � had hurt himself and those around him. He�d done his penance, he feels, by shucking a million oysters. And now he wants to go for the third Michelin.



At first, in scenes reminiscent of A Team, he goes around putting his team of chefs together. And then, convinces an investor, Daniel Bruh�s family, (who�d already been badly burnt at his hands once in Paris) to invest in a restaurant with a clever bit of blackmail. Daniel, himself one of the best Maitre�D�s, eventually reluctantly agrees but does post some unusual conditions and Bradley begins work� Will his demons come back to haunt him ? His drug debts from the past ? Will he be able to get his motley crew to work together ? And, most importantly, what of his rivalries from the past, especially with Matthew Rhys, who has already bagged the coveted third star ?



The food part is fun � especially watching the ingredients transform into those beautiful dishes. Some of the conversations about food are fun too, such as �Why wouldn�t you eat at a Burger King vs a fancy restaurant which charges a 100 times� � though the ones which try to be a bit deeper, like �What cooking means to you�, come off as a bit contrived.


Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander and Uma Thurman have small cameos and Daniel, while he has an important role, it lacks the layers he�s so capable of � he seems a bit wasted. Bradley is good (his eyes look so blue!) but is a little flat. The ones who really impress are Rhys, Omar and Sienna � all chefs under Bradley


There is a layer of predictability around it � you can foresee some of the �twists� a mile away. And finally, thanks to the proliferation of cooking shows on TV (Gordon Ramsay is a Chef Consultant to the movie), you wonder if there is really something new here at all�

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 9th October, 2015
Time : 121 minutes
Director : Denis Villenueve; Writer : Taylor Sheridan; Music : Johann Johannsson;
Starring : Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya, Jeffrey Donovan, Bernardo P Saracino, Maximiliano Hernandez

Sicario is derived from the Latin word �Sicarius� meaning dagger man. In Spanish, it means hitman



There is an overwhelming sense of fore-boding, tension that pervades the film, as we watch, virtually through the mostly wide-open, terrified eyes of Emily Blunt, a major operation against a drug cartel�




Emily is relatively new with the FBI, but has been doing active service in that time, kicking down doors in her eighteen months there. The movie begins with one such bust of a house that contains a horrible secret�an outcome of the drug wars from Mexico. The next thing she knows, she is being asked if she�d like to volunteer for a DOD (Dept of Defense) Mission against the cartel � led by Josh Brolin (who�s an advisor to the DOD) and Benicio Del Toro (another advisor). She�s kept totally in the dark as to what�s happening, what�s the objective and soon finds herself more than a bit out of her depth.




Daniel Kaluuya (remember him from Johnny English?), her mate from the FBI, tries to be her eyes and years, help�but this is beyond even their boss, Victor Garber�s, paygrade. You do learn a bit, about how US agencies operate � a bit like their government � they think they�re above the law and try to retain control of events at whatever cost. Benicio is excellent as the silent and sinister type, while Josh is great too, talkative, with the Southern drawl but still menacing. Emily, unforgettable since The Adjustment Bureau, is the soul of the movie.




Secrets tumble. Details about their mission, divvied up in little sorties, are revealed bit by little bit. I loved the way the tension is maintained through the entire film � and even a moment of release � going for drinks at a bar after a rough day, still doesn�t allow the viewer to completely relax (in India most producers would go for an item number). And I liked the end � in all it�s different parts�sometimes, you do wonder what is the point of it all�

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 9th October, 2015
Time : 122 minutes
Director, Writer : Sanjay Gupta (based on the Korean film, Seven Days); Music : Various;
Starring : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Jackie Shroff, Atul Kulkarni, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Abhimanyu Singh




Welcome to the Sanjay Gupta school of exaggeration and over-acting�


Everyone is shrill, screams and runs in slow motion. A prisoner (Chandan Roy) giggles psychotically, and in their first meeting grabs his lawyer (Aishwarya) by the neck (just, because), druggies do a non-stop St Vitus� Dance, cops even while suspended boss around other cops and ride in police vehicles. When someone is angry, they dramatically beat the earth, with little poofs of dust rising to emphasize their emotion to a soundtrack of them wailing their hearts out. And, worst of all, Irrfan spouts chavani dialogues as if he�s a defective jukebox.


Aishwarya is a top lawyer who has no problems getting guilty persons off the hook, even if it means subverting justice / evidence. She is also a single mom and so one day, when her darling daughter is kidnapped, her world comes crashing around her. The kidnappers merely want her to get a convicted rapist / killer (Chandan), who�s appeal is up in a few days, to get bail, to walk free�and then she can have her daughter back�



Irrfan is an old school friend, with more than a bit of a crush on Aishwarya. He�s also a cop, with lots of attitude, currently (rightly) under suspension for corruption and even has an arrest warrant issued against him. Shabana Azmi is the victim�s mom, while Jackie Shroff plays a Don type politician



This is a movie where even an ordinary school mother-daughter race is given the Chariots of Fire treatment. Where, every few minutes, we see the sea-link or Mumbai from the air. Where, in the twinkling of an eye, a trial lawyer becomes an ace investigative, Perry Mason-esque lawyer. Where someone begins to run and beat up Aishwarya, even when asked the most innocuous question during an ill-advised item number. And there is a sad attempt to make this about women�s rights which just doesn�t add up.



One of the only redeeming features of the film is the camera work by Sameer Arya � I quite enjoyed the visuals, aesthetics. Shabana can walk away with some credit, as can Jackie Shroff and Atul Kulkarni (plays the prosecuting lawyer). Abhimanyu Singh (have a huge soft spot for him since Gulaal) stands out in his small role. Aishwarya is okay (and everyone who has read my reviews for a while, will know how much it hurts to say that). Irrfan tries to ham it up but disappoints.


After watching the film, you want to see the original Korean movie, Seven Days, from which this is remade � just to see how that one was done, what superfluous elements have been added by the director / producer here, which takeaway from an otherwise quite neat premise�

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 10th October, 2014
Time : 113 minutes
Director: Navneet Behl; Writer: Shailesh Pratap Singh, Bharat Ratan; Music : Various
Starring : Richa Chadha, Nikhil Dwivedi, Damandeep Sidhu



Someone got so excited with the idea of having two gun-toting lovers, the man a mild sort of UP-ite and the woman a foul mouthed firecracker, going around shooting stuff, robbing banks, and having sex at every opportunity�they forgot about the rest of the story�



There is a villain, Damandeep, huge, hulking, wooden, Richa�s possessive lover and kingpin of the drugs gang in Delhi but not much more. The entire film is just about Richa and Nikhil blowing stuff up � with guns or without. The dialogue is interesting, funny in parts but that�s about as good as it gets, with the highly predictable, stretched end just not working.


The best part of the movie are the sequences set to RD Burman�s classy music and Kishore�s voice from the song �Pyaar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli�. Nikhil delivers a competent performance, Richa looks every inch the patakha, in bed and off it, with many Indian style (censored) sex scenes (in a train, on tomatoes, in a car, in a bank locker room) thrown in to garner an audience but unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn�t really rise up to the challenge.

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 22nd August, 2014
Time : 113 minutes
Director: Pradeep Sarkar; Writer : Gopi Puthran; Music : Salim-Sulaiman
Starring : Rani Mukherjee, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Priyanka Sharma, Jishu Sengupta, Anil George



Its Taken (if you�d like to know more about that film, click here) but Indianized. Its Rani Mukherjee, instead of Liam Neeson, playing a Mumbai cop. Not the daughter but someone who is daughter jaisi (wonder why ?). Add a huge amount of melodrama, teary music to an otherwise decent portrayal and you have a film which is decent, has good performances but, thanks to the above melodrama, never really builds up any tension or tautness to make you live the experience.



I like the way they built Rani�s character. Right from the opening raid to nab a criminal, the way she worked with her unit, her planning. The way she isn�t scared of getting her hands dirty. How she doesn�t really lose her cool, staying focused on the job at hand, battling bureaucracy, seniors and apart from one preachy scene, she mostly just gets on with it. The girl who gets kidnapped, Priyanka, someone she�d �adopted�, who lives at an orphanage but meets the family, including Rani�s niece who lives with them, frequently.



Her performance is matched by Tahir�s chilling, efficient and �its only business portrayal, the chief villain. He�s very good. Suggesting a better method of killing herself to a victim who threatens to commit suicide. Having phone conversations with Rani, trying to persuade her to drop the case.


What the film does well is make us care for the characters. Build them up nicely. Even people who appear in minute roles manage to make a mark, like Tahir�s mom, or the lady who takes care of the girls, or the police unit Rani works with, or the car dealer who is the front for the syndicate in Mumbai. What doesn�t work well are the slightly gratuitous scenes of the young girls undressing (well, perhaps necessary to show how the system works), the beauty parade they go through, the attempts to wring a tear, which actually dissipate any tension that was being built up.


I may be pilloried for this but child trafficking is probably a crime worse than rape and happens a lot more often (apparently one every eight minutes in India). Without as much media noise, police prevention effort going behind it. This one does a fair job of bringing this heinous deed to the forefront, describing the modus operandi, the organized nature of the syndicates running it and also the end users, mostly rich, well-connected, sick b****rds ! Probably just for that, it deserves an audience and a decent rating.

PS : The Nth time I�m saying this, but our celebrity obsessed culture really needs to change. Why is it so difficult to get names of the entire cast, as you can do on countless websites for English / French / German films. According to the YRF website the film only stars Rani & Tahir. Quite a few �big� sites, in fact, only name Rani as the cast�which I don�t think is respectful to the other actors who sweat it out and perform in the film�