Bollywood World

Three coauthors of #EighteenPlusDuets and I have a discussion on what actually comprises a date

Sounds simple, doesn't it ? But with our group, it just never is

Trailer


Review

Rating : 6/10
Running Time : 170 minutes
Director & Writer : Abbas Ali Zafar
Producer : YRF Films
Starring : Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh, Anant Vidhaat Sharma, Parikshit Sahni, Kumud Mishra, Randeep Hooda (Special Appearance)

Trailer


Review


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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 : 6/10
Release Date : 16th October, 2015
Time : 136 minutes
Director, Writer : Luv Ranjan; Co-Writers : Rahul Mody, Tarun Jain; Music : Various;
Starring : Kartik Aaryan, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Nushrat Bharucha, Sonnalli Seygall, Ishita Raj, Manvir Singh, Rumana Molla, Sharat Saxena

Disclaimer : I haven�t seen Part 1, just the video clip of the famous anti-women speech from the film (you can see it here)



Which guy hasn�t suffered at the hands of women? Danced to her whims, coped with her ever-changing mind and struggled in the never-ending battle to win her over and please her ? This, surprisingly good, movie narrates the story of three pairs and some immensely relatable situations�and does it without ever crossing over that fine line�


Kartik, Sunny and Omkar are great friends and room-mates. Each doing well, in their respective jobs, Omkar probably the best of all, and comfortable enough with each other to constantly take each others trip when the occasion demands (or sometime doesn�t even do so). Then they all strike jackpot, in the form of three gorgeous women, at around the same time. Kartik finds Nushrat (cute, bouncy), Sunny (the least predatory, most seedha of the three) finds the svelte Sonnalli (tall, lissome) and Omkar strikes Gold in the gym with Ishita (a gorgeous figure and she knows what to do with it).


Soon, though, and in no particular order, the following situations strike their relationship

An excessive preference for pink, dresses and selfies

Arguments about money � one woman always wants to pay for her half. Or does she ?

The dreaded debate about Facebook status, and then worse, a demand to know her mates password�

The three women not really getting along � sometimes making nasty remarks about the others

One woman is too scared to tell her dad about her relationship, always waiting for the right time, despite knowing the parents are �looking�

The entry of a woman�s best friend, a guy (Manvir Singh), who seems uncomfortably close to her

A woman can�t fathom the hisaab between the three mates. But, despite several appeal to not go there, wants to.

One woman listens too much to the advice of her two girl-friends

The cops get called by zealous, protective dad

The way a guy is used for odd jobs, pick up and drops by her and her family
A debate about the guy�s future plans, dreams � his desire to leave his job and set up a website



The refreshing part of the film was the non-judgmental way the women are shown to be very comfortable in their own skins, happy to drink, unabashedly wearing clothes of their choice, having no qualms about pre-marital sex (or if they do, that is not an issue). The guys are also reasonably straight-forward, neither behaving like a macho, khap panchayat or are just stringing the woman along for sex. Everything plays out quite normally, as you�d expect in real life, and is still so funny when presented the way it is. And, thankfully, the film-makers stick to their storyline and don�t clog it with back-stories or too many characters, sub-plots.



I was quite impressed with Omkar from a looks, acting skills perspective. Sunny was also quite good, as were Ishita, Sonnalli. Kartik was a little bit of a weak link � he looks a little sleazy, the chikna next door � and his expressions don�t always hit the right notes. The speech this time wasn�t as funny as the previous one and also didn�t totally relate to the situations in the film. But I loved the way the film ended � a good, gently sarcastic depiction of our men.



With each of the situations shown, you�re going to recall your own predicaments or those of someone you�ve known. The war of the sexes can be quite hilarious to observe. Unless you�re an involved party. And in this war, there really never is a victor�

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 18th September, 2015
Time : 138 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Nikhil Advani; Co-Writer: Anshul Singhal; Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Starring : Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Abhishek Saha, Vivan Bhatena



You know he�s nerdy because he wears specs. You know she�s cool and hip because she paints, has tattoos, wears really short shorts and carries Rs 20 notes in her bag with her phone number written on them� He takes but an instant to fall in love and wants a deep, committed relationship while she wants something time pass, as she hasn�t checked out the �merchandise� in their college yet. And with a start like that, isn�t heartbreak inevitable ? Booze (lots of it), a suicide attempt (featuring a bottle of phenyl that looks like a beer bottle), fights and a rebound one night stand follows, but will they lead to true love finding a way ?


And then, just when you thought it was going to end, is a big twist � something so incomprehensible, so ludicrous, it made the movie fall and fail�


What works are the moments of zaniness (only a few, like when he�s examining toilets, the parents visit to the campus or the opening credits), a decent soundtrack (despite being over-populated with songs), a good supporting cast (especially Abhishek and Vivan) and superb sets / visuals. What falls flat are the repeated, almost desperate attempts to be really cool, quirky (the impossibly overwrought boss, the band at the end), the irritating sister, the stretched heartbreak with the �I will forget her� alternating with �I will get her back� portions and the overall silliness of the plot.



What also doesn�t work is the lead pair � neither is able to truly bring credibility to their characters. Imran is completely unconvincing as the love-sick lover � he doesn�t look like the type who would go to pieces if his girl left him � and he tries too hard to emote. Kangana�s struggle is more with her character, which being flawed doesn�t leave her much scope. And she�s also done the wild chick a bit too often, so the novelty has worn off.



What we get is a terrible, confused, mess of a story, almost as if the makers didn�t know whether to make us laugh or to cry and then fall flat trying to make us do both. The characters are stereotypical, make us feel nothing for them and the ending is a desperate attempt to wring some emotions from us. Though it only made me cringe and hold my head in my hands, while laughing hollowly�

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 5th June, 2015
Time : 170 minutes
Director : Zoya Akhtar; Writers : Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Farhan Akhtar (dialogue); Music : Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Starring : Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anuskha Sharma, Farhan Akhtar, Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab, Ridhima Sud, Manoj Pahwa, Parmeet Sethi, Khushi Dubey, Divya Seth Shah, Pawan Chopra, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Sarah Hashmi, Dolly Mattoo, Ikhlaque Khan



Members of which Indian community are most likely to throw a lavish foreign cruise party to celebrate their anniversary, inviting family and friends, when they are crippled by debt ?


That same community, their mannerisms, dialogues, behavior, conversations are absolutely nailed, almost perfectly. And that is what is most enjoyable about the film � the close look at a dysfunctional family and their equally crazy relatives and friends. The story otherwise isn�t much and the ending is�well, it would need a lifeboat to rescue it�


(From separate conversations)
Auntyji 1 : (recovering from her daughter�s broken engagement) : Maine na Mata ki Chowki rakhi hai

Auntyji 2 : Teri maid phir bhaag gayi hai ? Yaar, what do you do with your maids ?

Auntyji 3 : (when scolded to get a life, after spending too much time match-making) : Yeh paagal ho gayi hai ? Hummein job kaun dega ?

Auntyji 4 : (when asked to have a drink) : Nahin, mujhe arthritis hai so I cant hold a glass for long

Auntyji 4 : (about above Auntyji, at another point in time) : Inhein asthma bhi hai!?

Auntyji 5 : Aise Delhi main thodi dance kar sakte hain, log kya kahenge

Anil Kapoor : Head of the family. Self-made man. Reminds everyone about it constantly. Has an eye for the pretty ladies. And business trips with them. He is very good as the the testosterone filled dad, prone to getting his own way. And is central to the best scene of the film, a medical emergency


Shefali Shah : Wife. Advisor in tough times. Doormat (to be trampled upon) at others. Prone to eating. Chocolate. Especially when nervous. She was the actor of the film, communicating volumes through her eyes and expressions. Didn�t have too many killer dialogues but one stood out, on the topic of marital incompatibility � �Husband hai, judwan bhai nahin�


Ranveer Singh : Happy go lucky. Infectiously funny. Loves to fly. Isnt good at handling Dad�s business. Has tried. Is being asked to marry daughter of rich friend. To do his bit for the family business. Ranveer does what he does best � brings tons of energy to his role, which seems written for him � and looks, acts, behaves his part. The puke jokes were brilliant!


Priyanka Chopra : Super successful, has set up her own business. Married to the wrong guy. By her parents. Used to being over-looked by them for her brother. But for some reason, it still hurts. After a long while, Priyanka gets a role where she isn�t just eye-candy. And boy, does she do it justice. That guilty look after a sudden, stolen kiss�


Rahul Bose, Priyanka�s stiff hubby, does excellently in a negative role that, strangely, lacks layers. Zarina Wahab as Rahul�s mom is great too � especially with her various ailments. Manoj Pahwa is very good as a loud, happy friend (Oh, yaar, apni biwiyon ko itne saal jhel liya hai, yeh kya baat hai). As are the various wives and other uncles. Special mention of Khushi Dubey as a wise-cracking young �un (Beta, agar saj ke nahin baithoge, to ladka kaise phasega ?) and Riddhima Sud, who does a super job as a bimbette type. As an exasperated Ranveer tells her, when she is caught out once, kissing the wrong guy � �There are 500 rooms on the ship!�


Anushka is good in her role as Ranveer�s love interest. Farhan is effortlessly excellent in his brief role � again, he doesn�t seem to be acting but just being himself (Tum itna smart hote huay itni stupid kaisi ho sakti ho?!)


It desperately stretches out. Has an unnecessarily convoluted end. The songs were ordinary, though the background score was great. Thought the whole thing about the dog as a narrator was contrived. But it gets its characters right for the most part. And nails the Punjabi ethos, complete with its extravagance, large heartedness, hypocrisy, male dominance and above all, the intrinsic humour�

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 5th June, 2015
Time : 112 minutes
Director : Lee Toland Krieger; Writer : J. Mills Goodloe, Salvador Paskowitz; Music : Rob Simonsen
Starring : Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Ellen Burstyn, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew



Age of Adaline makes you want to fall in love again. It reminds you, with all its bitter-sweetness, the heady rush of conflicting emotions that course through you when experiencing those intense moments � the pounding heart screaming yes, the logical brain yelling no � the looks, the tenderness, the chaos and the way everything around you seems more beautiful.




Blake Lively, in the title role, stopped ageing after a freak accident. And once you get over the obvious advantages of such a �gift�, you realize the inherent negatives � watching those you love age around you, the incredulous looks of friends, the suspicious looks of the authorities. And reaches the same conclusion as the central character in the little known film The Man From Earth. She realizes she has to live the life of a nomad, with no roots, away from her daughter (Ellen Burstyn)�almost a fugitive� until she meets Michiel Huisman�and his parents, Harrison Ford and Kathy Baker�





What was extraordinary about Blake�s performance in the film was her demeanour. Its one thing to look youthful, gorgeous but quite another to be all that and behave old, mature, wise beyond her�(well, not in this case). Whether its her all-knowing eyes (having seen it all), her confident posture (Without being assertive) or her measured dialogue delivery (wiser, without being condescending) � she was exceptional and lit up the film, made us believe its improbable premise.





It�s funny the thoughts such a film can provoke. The realization, like that of King Midas, about how a simple gift can have unexpected consequences. The wisdom that can come from years of living (as demonstrated by a game of Trivial Pursuit in the film). The choice of anonymity and its accompanying practicalities � in terms of choice of profession, the banking modalities, the homes chosen. And above all, the loneliness�the wistfulness� and the memories of heart-aches that don�t fade...