Bollywood World

Baar Baar Dekho

Trailer


Movie Review

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 30th October, 2015
Time : 123 minutes
Director : Prawaal Raman; Music : Various;
Starring : Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha, Adil Hussain, Alexx O�Nell, Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra, Mandana Karimi, Lucky Morani, Dijana Dejanovic, Kanika Kapoor, Nandu Madhav, Anastasia Fomina, Sandeep Punia, Heeral Mei, Saurabh Sarkar



An interesting story but the narrative style gives the film a highly disjointed feel and we never really get to know the enigmatic title character � no attempts to fathom what / how Charles is thinking / doing � just moving from one episode to another, from one woman / sexual escapade to another.




Supposedly on the life of Charles Sobhraj, the movie focuses on his jailbreak from Delhi, his escape to Goa (and the partying there), his relationship with Richa Chaddha and the attempts of Adil Hussain and Madhav to catch him � the rest of his life is largely ignored and not referred to. The relentless back and forth (too many flashbacks) also don�t help us get a clear picture.



Randeep�s look is quite cool and his expressions are bang on but his accent doesn�t work / jars. Richa, Adil, Vipin, Alexx and Madhav are very good in their roles as are the bevy of beauties we encounter on Charles trail. The soundtrack is excellent as is the styling, mood, look of the film. The scenes between Tisca (Adil�s wife) and Adil, especially when she is unabashedly showing her interest in the life of Charles, were the pick of the movie.


Unfortunately, by focusing more on the sexual conquests, the bikinis and the backless scenes, than anything else, the makers reveal their intent. They don�t really engage us with the complete story or the brain behind the man but revel in the more salacious aspects of the story.


In India we�re normally not very good at biopics � either trying to present the entire life or falling prey to hero-worship. This one, at least, selects a part of his life � chooses which aspects of his personality to communicate. It does glorify a criminal, someone seen as a psychopath and a cold-blooded killer. But thankfully, thanks to the episodic nature of story-telling adopted by the director, we don�t really feel too much or too strongly about anything happening on the screen

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 : 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 : 6/10
Release Date : 2nd October, 2014
Time : 156 minutes
Director : Siddharth Anand; Writers : Sujoy Ghosh, Suresh Nair (remake of Knight And Day); Music : Vishal � Shekhar (songs), Salim � Sulaiman (background score)
Starring : Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Danny Denzongpa, Javed Jaffrey, Pawan Malhotra, Parth Akerkar



It�s a light, air-headed, feel-good watch, works to the extent it does because of Hrithik, the chemistry between him and Katrina, a few dabs of humour, the locales, the few sequences lifted directly from Knight and Day and its overall pace. It is let down, quite badly, by the amateurish attempt to Indianize the film by injecting emotion, melodrama and back stories (the whole subplot involving Jimmy Shergill, Kanwaljeet and Deepti Naval), the Indo-British angle / Kohinoor bit and to an extent, Katrina, who apart from looking smoking hot, doesn�t really succeed in making us believe in her character, a bubbly, normal woman involved in an international intrigue which takes her way out of her comfort zone.



Katrina, a bank receptionist in Simla, leading a humdrum, routine life, somehow catches the eye of the mysterious Hrithik, who has just stolen the Kohinoor diamond from the Tower of London and is trying to complete its sale to an over the top, caricaturish villain, Danny Denzongpa and his brother, Javed Jaffrey. Chased by cops, secret service (Pawan Malhotra) and the villains henchmen, including a bumbling Parth Akerkar, the movie involves lots of chase sequences over air, water and land while the lead pair sort out their feelings for each other.



Hrithik is a delight, doing what he does best, in familiar territory (similar terrain as his Dhoom 2 avatar). There is something about him that makes you believe in him, trust him, managing to make even his outrageous character seem credible in parts. Katrina looks very nice, as always, shares an easy rapport with Hrithik, fresh off their Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara pairing but finds it hard to look sexy, with her million buck pout and still portray a normal, next door woman, in a situation way over her head. The plot is ludicrous, especially the new bits, but redeemed by its touches of humour including Hrithik teasing Katrina about her online dating foray or Parth�s bumbling buffoonery.


The action sequences are good, slick, though apart from the water flyboarding sequence smack of same old, same old and in some cases, especially the desert finale, the special effects, computer graphics seem obvious. Couple of songs get your feet tapping and the gorgeous locations definitely uplift the mood and provide the right environment for the great looking lead pair.



This film is more about looks than any substance. About trying to provide an entertaining couple of hours rather than any thoughts or images to stay with you after you leave the hall. It�s the equivalent of a great looking date, who�s good for that one night out, but with whom its hard to develop any sort of meaningful relationship