Bollywood World

Trailer


Review

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 11th September, 2015
Time : 131 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Nikhil Advani; Co-Writer: Umesh Bist based on the original �83 movie by Subhash Ghai; Music : Various
Starring : Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty, Aditya Pancholi, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sharad Kelkar, Kishor Kadam, Chetan Hansraj, Vivan Bhatena



Disclaimer : I haven�t seen the original 1983 film by Subhash Ghai (Wiki link here), so that lets me out of any pesky comparisons

A goonda (with a heart of gold, obviously) falls in love with a top cop's daughter (spoilt SoBo types) while he has kidnapped her at his godfather�s behest�



What Nikhil Advani and Umesh Bist (Director-writer and writer resp.) then do is figure out the most convoluted, tortuous way to try and get the lovers (and their folks) to unite� they add unnecessary characters, twist plot lines, prolong the movie and also defy logic, gravity, space-time continuum etc in their holy quest.



Sample some of the senseless stuff
- The godfather, Aditya Pancholi, is never seen without his lawyer. Even in jail, in his cell. Didn�t know you could invite a roomie�
- Kidnapping an IG�s daughter should be no mean feat. However, here it happens peacefully. Twice. No casing the joint, observing her movements, or watching her security detail necessary. Not even so much as looking at your potential victims photo beforehand as Sooraj is surprised when he sees her (having had a run in with her at a club sometime ago)
- If you kidnapped her from Mumbai, in a car, dressed as cops, where would you go ? Jammu, obviously. Isnt it next door ? Arre � it�s so picturesque to show the young couple romancing in the snow !!
- Tigmanshu Dhulia, the IG, has to be the worst cop possible. Not only does he let his daughter get kidnapped, twice, he also lets Aditya Pancholi escape from custody. And then does nothing whatsoever to track him down. Obviously more worried about what people will say about his daughter cavorting around with aaj ka Gen Y goonda� On receiving a match for beloved daughter, he also falls head over heels for the same (Call me Dad) without doing any sort of reference check whatsoever
- I loved the gym Sooraj sets up � really fancy. Would love even more to meet whoever lent him the money to make it�also whichever institute did Athiya�s show (and allowed a novice to join in) ?
- Why was Vivan Bhatena needed in the film ? For that matter, why was Paris ?




Am not even touching on 20 other points that come to mind (how did she know when he was being released, didn�t the bike wash away in Jammu , how come the bomb blast laid twenty cops low twenty feet away but Aditya Pancholi is unharmed five feet away ?) just focused on the big ones above...




Also, the acting skills of Tigmanshu and Aditya were quite gloriously wasted. I really wish instead of wasting time on songs (too many, too ordinary) and devising new ways to stretch the plot, the makers had spent a bit more time building on the characters of the lead pair, showing us what they were about, why they fall in love etc. The two star kids actually look good, have good screen presence for their debut film and will get better with time. Unfortunately we don't really get to know them at all we are only dealt cliches. Just wish they�d got a better platform, script-wise, to showcase their talents

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 3rd July, 2015
Time : 122 minutes
Director, Writer: Subhash Kapoor; Music : Hitesh Sonik
Starring : Arshad Warsi, Amit Sadh, Aditi Rao Hydari, Ronit Roy, Rajiv Gupta



It got too serious, especially in the second half, that too with a flawed plot


The first fifteen minutes were fun � an orchestra band run by Arshad Warsi (Rangeela) and Amit Sadh (Guddu), singing songs like Mata Ka Email for jagrans, scoping houses for robbers, Amit leching furiously while checking out the residence, sadhu�s enjoying a game of football, having posters of Messi, Ronaldo alongside their gods, robbery with funny masks, multiple robbers landing up on the same premises�it was all fun and games, making subtle points about the kind of society we�ve become�


Then arrives our villain (Ronit Roy), the man Arshad is seeking revenge against, a toughie who does the dirty work for our hypocritical, moralistic khaap panchayats, and the mood changes. Enter a new cop (Amit Sial), a new compulsion, a shady character, Dibyendu, a kind of informer, who has a simple plot for kidnapping a girl, Aditi, and solving all the problems in one go� but nothing is what it seems�


Till the end of the first half, things are nicely set-up. But then it rapidly begins to slide downhill. Gets too serious, too complicated and too flawed.


Arshad is very good in his comic moments, emotes well and is overall fine except when you suddenly make him a superhero type, beating / shooting a bunch of villains away � that just doesn�t seem right. Amit Sadh is good � he suits this side-kick kind of role, with the lechery, small town act, as is Aditi who moves from being hapless girl to being partner in crime with practiced ease. The whole romance between Aditi and Amit is rushed, quite unnecessary, doesn�t ring quite right. Dibyendu, for me, didn�t quite get his character right, but special mention of Rajiv Gupta, as the simple, fun-loving number two cop, who did and continued to be the entertainment quotient whenever on screen.



Unlike Subhash Kapoor�s previous film, Jolly LLB, which got the balance between humour, plot and seriousness right, this one flounders between the three, especially in the second half. There was a better story to be had with characters as richly drawn as Guddu Rangeela � one with a lot more fun and a lot more subtle points re the khaap panchayats, not the sledgehammer used in this one. I normally give an extra rating point, if the message is right / heart is in the right place, guess here am too disappointed to do so.

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 19th September, 2014
Time : 113 minutes
Director & Writer: Scott Frank (based on the novel by Lawrence Block); Music : Carlos Rafael Rivera
Starring : Liam Neeson, David Harbour, Adam David Thompson, Dan Stevens, Astro, Eric Nelsen, Razane Jammal, Laura Birn, Marielle Heller, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Natia Dune, Mark Consuelos, Sebastian Roche, Danielle Rose Russell



The film opens with a montage of a man touching a woman, brushing his hands through her blond hair, caressing her body. She�s moving about too, against a pristine white background. Its only at the end you realize she is gagged and bound. And everything isn�t what it seems. Gripping. Gritty. Needed a twist to be great but passes muster thanks to Liam Neeson doing what he does best.


Women are being kidnapped. Huge ransoms being asked and paid. However, the women are being returned dead. Cut up, in pieces. And since they�re related to drug dealers / traffickers, there are no cops involved. Which is why, Liam Neeson, a private investigator, ex-cop, gets involved�



Its slow, with a constant sense of menace through the film � not one of tragedy or depressive but more of nastiness, dread. Dan Stevens, who is the person who actually hires Liam, also has the same sense of being wound up too tight about him, a quiet, seething anger, a coiled cobra, just waiting to strike . He wants Liam to find the men who did it. And then walk away so he can dispense his own brand of justice.


There is a fascinating sub plot, involving Astro, a young black kid Liam befriends, who wants to be a detective. Both have their own tragic stories, both getting on with life, neither wanting the other to feel sorry for him�


You really have to compliment the supporting cast here � everyone fits perfectly including David Harbour, Adam Thompson, Sebastian Roche and Olafur Olafsson � who has a memorable end to his cameo. I also wish Hindi films learn from how the soundtrack works in movies like this � it stays in the background, just enhances the mood but doesn�t intrude or overpower.



I enjoy watching such films, slow, full of foreboding, as if carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. I was disappointed that there wasn�t a major twist in the end � felt the film was perfectly placed for one � but still works thanks to a tight script and a riveting lead performance.