Bollywood World

Trailer


Review

Eighteen Plus Duets.

Our book, is now available for sale.

Eighteen women co-authors, all first time writers.

Eighteen Stories - sizzling, spicy, saucy, like the women.

One man (me) - with enough stories about the 'making of' to warrant a separate book

Launches planned in Pune (Sep1), Delhi (Sep 17), Mumbai (TBC).

India's most ambitious self-published book needs your support, love and care. Likes & comments are welcome but we need you to buy and share.

Printed copies available in India, USA and Europe, eBook on Kindle everywhere

#EighteenPlusDuets #JustDuets

www.eighteenplusduets.com

Rating : 6 /10
Release Date : 15th April, 2016
Time : 143 minutes
Director, Writer : Maneesh Sharma; Music : Vishal-Shekhar (songs), Andrea Guerra (background score)
Starring : Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku, Sayani Gupta



A young boy (Gaurav) is obsessed with Shahrukh Khan, the star (named Aryan in the movie), and coincidentally looks like him too. In fact the high point of his life is winning the local star look-alike show. And then, on SRK�s birthday, he decides to make the trip to Mumbai and meet his idol � with dreams of handing him the trophy he won, hugging him etc. Things don�t go to plan (understatement of the century) and when he returns from Mumbai, he decides to make the star pay � especially as he was found wanting on one of his favourite sign off lines � �I am what I am because of my fans, if the fans aren�t there, I am nobody�.



It�s a fascinating premise � who in India doesn�t recognize obsession after all, and what if that infatuation turns sour - and it�s fabulously enacted by Shahrukh, but thanks to two bloated chase sequences and an end that goes nowhere, it pulls you down. There is a strong message somewhere � but it�s lost in all the filmy touches and several implausible moments.



Our boy has the cutest, most supportive parents imaginable � and his normal life pretty much revolves around his idol. Several touching scenes � the imaginary conversations in our head, the wall to ceiling posters, the fighting with others for our star � we would recognize these traits, after all, we all have idolized someone at some point. And, we�ve all felt at some time or the other, that our stars have let us down, they sometimes let success and adulation get to their head, become arrogant, forget why, who made them big in the first place. And in this film, the star�s biggest fan, decides to teach him a lesson.


SRK is very good, after a long while. It�s been ages since he did a film with some meat, substance and this couldn�t have been an easy project to say �Yes� to � so kudos to him for agreeing to it, making it come alive with a great performance. Unfortunately, at script level, there were too many inconsistencies � events happen that have a close to zero chance happening in real life � and the end just didn�t connect. Wasn�t something else possible here ?


As a total aside - it was nice to see Dubrovnik, a lovely, quiet Croatian coastal town feature in a Hindi film � Star Wars VIII, Game of Thrones have also been shot here, quite extensively too.


Obsessions, especially those not our own, don�t make for easy viewing, especially on the big screen. Several moments when you wish the character didn�t do what they did, you cringe, face-palm, which ensures that the repeat viewing potential of this movie is nil. But then, as our star obsessed fan points out several times � what they do isn't done or possible for others to understand. And at the end, who are we to judge ?

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 18th March, 2016
Time : 140 minutes
Director, Writer : Shakun Batra; Co-Writer : Ayesha Devitre Dhillon; Music : Various
Starring : Rishi Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Fawad Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Sukant Goel, Fahim Shaikh



A sensational first half � witty, crazy, natural, superb dialogues, a fast-moving script, great characters, fabulous acting � followed by a second half, which goes in a different direction to what I would�ve preferred. Am not a fan of solving things via tears, melodrama, sorrow � perhaps there is another way, but our directors / writers have yet to get there. Anyways, should be grateful it doesn�t go awry � just in a different direction�



Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah live in idyllic Coonoor but argue like all married couples do, over things that most married couples do. Their sons, Fawad and Sidharth, live in UK and US respectively, are used to seeing their parents argue and also have their own unsettled issues. Fawad�s a successful author, his parent�s pet while Sid is still looking to find his vocation and has a huge chip on his shoulder about not being loved as much as his elder brother. However, what is fascinating is that, while all this may sound sad, morbid, the first half is anything but. Thanks to their grandfather, Rishi Kapoor (I want to grow old like him !) and Alia, who is the wild, zany one in a nearby tea estate.



Rishi Kapoor is endearing and full of life � so much so that he practices falling dead, just for kicks. Other pastimes include watching porn, smoking, weed, shooting his grandkids dead and making sure the hospital staff don�t forget him (the scenes with the nurse were excellent). Alia is always pulling someone�s leg � first Sid, then Fawad fall for her pranks and she ensures she always remains happy, sunny despite all around her



The stage is then set for the family drama to heat up in the second half, as secrets tumble out, things come to a head�


It�s been a long time since I saw such beautifully etched characters and crisp, natural dialogues in a Hindi film. The performances were fabulous � Rajat, Rishi were brilliant and Fawad, Alia, Sidharth also display their acting chops � both the men, especially, successfully put to bed all the unfair, unwarranted criticism that they�re just good looking boys who can�t act. Ratna is very good too, doing justice to the role given � her character is not someone who I would be fond of but can understand. Special mention of Sukant Goel who also shines through in a small role, as Sid�s best friend.


The film does hold a mirror up to how most of us live our lives, mired in our first world problems. Unhappiness, we discover, can be caused by so many factors � parental expectations, striving for approval, success, distrust, money issues, the search for love � all can prove to be so corrosive. But equally, isn�t it upto us to simplify things, to chart out our own course � to stop blaming others for our problems. Because, in the end, don�t we all just want to be happy ?

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 12th February, 2016
Time : 131 minutes
Director, Writer : Abhishek Kapoor; Co-Writer : Supratik Sen (based on the novel �Great Expectations� by Charles Dickens); Music : Hitesh Sonik
Starring : Tabu, Katrina Kaif, Aditya Roy Kapur



Soulful, romantic movies � where the hero and heroine keep expressing their love for each other, revel in deep sighs, leaving things unsaid and meaningful stares - aren�t really my type. Add shades of tragedy to them and usually they�re well nigh unwatchable for me. I went purely for Tabu and some of the visuals and I wasn�t disappointed.



It�s a pretty straight-laced translation of Great Expectations � set in Kashmir. Aditya Roy Kapur, the poor, talented artist / boy, Katrina Kaif, the gorgeous princess and Tabu the mesmeric, heart-broken wealthy �Queen�.



Kashmir never looked prettier � the autumn and snowy frames a visual delight (great work by Anay Goswami) ! The music score is super, sets the tone, the song Pashmina especially resonating. Even some of the art Aditya is shown creating is beautiful, breath-taking (some went over my head � the horse, for example - but there were others � the shikara, the black and white drawings - that were stunning). And Tabu works her magic � her look, her eyes and minimal gestures connecting a lot more than her hysterical moments.



I don�t get this kind of love � perhaps the problem is me � the one-sided, never-fading, the kind that lasts for years just on memories. Add to that the rich-poor angle, the bits about Kashmir (the bomb blasts, Indo-Pak relations) and the whole somber, brooding undertone, and you lost me



The main issue with the film though lies in the fact that, despite being only two years apart, Katrina looks like a nearby Cougar Aunty I know when romancing Aditya�and I mean this without in any way demeaning either of the two persons � it�s not that she looks old or anything � just the pair doesn�t work. She�s all grown-up, full-bodied, curvaceous woman while he�s still man-boy-child (with rippled abs, but that doesn�t change anything).

It�s not good for a romance flick, if the lead pair doesn�t click. No ?

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 20th November, 2015
Time : 146 minutes
Director : Sam Mendes; Writers : Josh Logan, Neal Purvis, Jez Butterworth (based on the character created by Ian Fleming); Music : Thomas Newman;
Starring : Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Rory Kinnear, Jesper Christensen



When you light a firecracker named Bond, you don�t quite expect it to fizzle out as badly as this one did. Rarely has the end been as much of a damp squib, where you wonder what it was all about or why Bond villains repeating the mistakes their predecessors of twenty years ago.




Daniel Craig, while on the heels of a villain in Mexico, causes unauthorized carnage. His boss, Ralph Fiennes (M), isn�t too happy, especially as there is a major restructuring of intelligence services underway and his new boss, the young, cocky Andrew Scott (C) is looking for excuses to shut down the Double O programme. However, Mr Craig has his own agenda � and with the sometimes unwilling assistance of Ben Whishaw (Q) and Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) � he�s hot on the heels of Christoph Waltz and his shadowy organization, Spectre. Encountering, along the way, a couple of damsels in distress � Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux.




There is a sense of foreboding through the film, particularly in the first half. A kind of tingling anticipation of great things to come, evil villainy, grand masterplans of world or interstellar domination, sizzling secrets and adventurous action. Which is why, given an actor like Waltz (wasn�t he just delicious in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained?), the second half is doubly disappointing. Action wise, there was nothing new either � no sequence which stands out in memory (the opening with the helicopter was quite tame compared to say, Goldeneye) and the opening credits were weak with the song positively mournful. And thanks to our censors, in particular the idiotic brown-nosing buffoon, Pahlaj Nihalani, we dont really get to see either Lea or Monica (who has a blink and you miss role) do their stuff.




I like Daniel Craig. I simply adore Christoph Waltz. And have had a crush on Monica Bellucci, like forever. But unfortunately, Sam Mendes and his band of writers are not able to do to Bond what Christopher Nolan managed to do to Batman � take it up a couple of notches and then keep going higher, into the stratosphere. Perhaps naming the previous one Skyfall turned out to be prophetic ?

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 : 6/10
Release Date : 28th August, 2015
Time : 136 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Kabir Khan; Co-Writer: Parveez Sheikh, based on a novel Mumbai Avengers by Hussain Zaidi; Music : Julius Packam
Starring : Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty



Despite an emotive topic, you struggle to feel anything. Especially for the characters � portions of the blame can be assigned to the script, casting, dialogue and editing � you just kind of go through the motions on this one, till right at the end, where you begin to root (a little bit) for things to go as planned.


Based on the book, Mumbai Avengers, this one is seriously wishful thinking about avenging the 26/11 blasts. About finding someone to go about killing those responsible for those blasts wherever they may be � vigilante justice, American style. A RAW think tank, headed by Sabyasachi and powered by Zeeshan, dreams this mission up, finds the right people and goes ahead without government permission.


They settle on disgraced soldier, Saif. Living in isolation in icy wilderness. Who finally says yes. And then goes about pursuing his assigned targets across the globe. Aided by Katrina Kaif, a London based information source for RAW. And an inept ISI (they really do make someone who regularly conducts operations against India with ease, look like bumbling buffoons).


For starters, Saif isn�t really believable as tough guy on a suicide mission. And it�s not just his fault, as the script doesn�t build him up or point out why he�s the right guy, apart from telling us he was court-martialled. Katrina, she of the famous pout, just doesn�t look plausible firing assault weapons. She doesn�t move or behave like she�s in the counter-intelligence business. And her front, a medical organization (something like Medecins Sans Frontieres), again doesn�t make sense, one minute she�s in London, next in Beirut, then in Syria and then in Lahore, almost as per her desires, going around with heavily armed men. Even the villains aren�t built up well enough � you know a little bit about them from news reports � but if they�re so easy to access (especially the first target), then you really do wonder why India isn�t doing something about it



This one is a little bit of a flatline, despite the exotic locales and the jingoistic plot. Struggles between trying to keep it real or filmy, succeeds at neither and even at the end, when things do pick up it�s just patriotism which eggs you on, aided by lots of Bollywood masala and dialogues, rather than anything substantive.