MAHABHARAT

1.5 stars

The grand epic Mahabharata, is the longest epic poem in the world and many a times described as the "longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to the wiseman Vyasa. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas and is often described as the fifth Veda. Filmmakers have always been fascinated by mythology, especially Mahabharat and are always eager to translate the epic on to the big screen. The epic has been adapted for the Indian Television atleast three times hitherto. The neoteric take on Mahabharata, produced by Kushal Kantilal Gada and Dhaval Jayantilal Gada and directed by Amaan Khan, is for the silver screen, which has got its first ever animation makeover, 48 years after Babubhai Mistry's Mahabharat (1965) with Abhi Bhattacharya (Lord Krishna), Pradeep Kumar (Arjun), Padmini (Draupadi), Dara Singh (Bhim) and Jeevan (Mama Shakuni) was released, and according to the film’s publicists, it is touted as the most expensive animated film in Bollywood.

With the conation to ascertain that the film stands peerless, the director has made the story-telling straightforward, which is evident from the very commencement of the film, which states that it’s an edited version of the epic and its intention is to promote Indian culture among the youth. The story of this Indian mythological drama film is centered upon basic human traits like truth, justice, duty, sacrifice, greed, fidelity, selflessness and the fight between good and bad ideologies, consummately pertinent nowadays. The throne of Hastinapur is argued over by the clans of Kaurava and Pandava in a resentful manner. Mama Shakuni of the Kaurava clan plots to abolish the Pandavas. Arjun wins the hand of charming Draupadi in an archery contest but after their mother makes a mistaken comment about Arjun sharing his prize, all the brothers end up marrying her. Mama Shakuni invites the Kauravas to a dice game in order to get rid of them. This avers baleful for the Pandavas – first they lose all their wealth and lands, and then agree to accept exile for 13 years. Finally, they lose Draupadi who is humiliated and stripped of her robe by one of the Kaurava princes, before Lord Krishna hears her appeals and appears, creating a magically endless robe that cannot be unravelled. As their years of exile end, the Pandavs return to reclaim their throne. When the Kaurav disavow to forgo what is theirs, they prepare for war. Both sides beseech Krishna and though he vows to remain a non-combatant, he offers his help in ways that allow Arjun to comprehend the significance of honour and ends up swaying the battle in favour of the Pandavas.

Attempting to make a 125-minute film out of such a vast text must be considered a daunting undertaking. The movie has an impregnable colour and an epic circumvolution that is bewitching. The background score (Deepak Walke) is lifting. Rajendra Shivv's music and Ibrahim Ashq's lyrics are in sync with the mood of the film. What makes this film goluptious is the fact that popular Bollywood stars have given their voice to the epic’s characters, that too without charging any money. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan lent his baritone voice and sombre expressions to Bheeshma Pitamah, which co-incidentally is the first time he dubbed for an animated character in his 44-year film career since 1969. Hearing Sunny Deol as Bheem, Vidya Balan as Draupadi, Manoj Bajpayee as Yudhistir, Ajay Devgn as Arjun, Anil Kapoor as Karna, Jackie Shroff as Duryodhan, Anupam Kher as Shakuni – the evil Prince of Gandhar, Deepti Naval as Kunti and Madhuri Dixit as Durga or Adi Shakti is an absolute delight.

On the flip side, not just the voice but the film makers have copied the look of the stars to sketch the animated characters for the film, which doesn't go down well with the mood of the film. The Pandavas are made to look much aged and narrowly unhandsome, sporting moustaches. Additionally, Draupadi is shown plump and dowdy, very much like Vidya Balan. Conversely, Draupadi was an epitome of matchless beauty with slender waistline, dark complexion and comely figuration. The animation effort itself is just about the middling ranks as compared to the Hollywood films. The makers are incapacious to go beyond the clichéd imagery as well.

On the whole, it’s particularly a kid-friendly version. But those who know the epic aptly, it's dissatisfying, disappointing, boring, lacking in finesse and imagination. A ham-fisted attempt! An extra half star for the USP of the film i.e. the voiceover of the A-listed stars.

DHOOM:3

4 stars

Dhoom series, that rendered emanation to street racing on exotic locales, bike-borne theft, stunting on public roads, never-seen-before action sequences, glam quotient, hi-tech heists, breathtaking hi-speed chases and non-stop laughter with excitement, have an epochal efficacy betwixt urban Indian youth. Dhoom (2004), a light footed caper that became a runaway hit, was the first action film produced by Yash Raj Films in 16 years, since Yash Chopra directed Vijay (1988). Then came Dhoom:2 (2006) and this time, the cops and robbers set up hid a love story within its folds. It too had a dream run at the box office and created a potential mine field of expectations and inadvertently, Yash Raj Films had become their own biggest competitors. So now, they are here with Dhoom:3, with a very emotionally moving script. Saying that expectations are sky rocketing, would seem like an understatement. Triggering off a new trend & adding to the hugger-mugger of the film, Aamir's decision of not visiting malls and other public forums (TV shows, events) amalgamated with YRF's strategy of releasing only 30-sec teaser of the songs, not entire songs, doesn't quite seem to backfire. Plus, with hardcore commercial film a la Dhoom:3, Aamir Khan is entering the larger than life and over the top genre of Bollywood. Believed to be made on an extravagant budget, Dhoom 3 is the first Bollywood movie to be released in the IMAX format. The film is also being released in Dolby Atmos.

Storyline is not so profound. Sahir (Aamir Khan) is on a mission to rob all the money of the Western Chicago bank, due to which Sahir's father (Jackie Shroff) took his life. He runs his father's circus along with Aaliya (Katrina Kaif). ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his aid Ali Akbar (Uday Chopra) pay a call on Sahir, to stop him. Thereupon starts a cat-and-mouse game. The bewitching robbing sequences and boisterous stunts don't obliterate the interest into the flick throughout with adrenaline pumping twists entwined in the plot. A pat on the back of the director for coming up with such BRILLIANTLY MUSHY climax.

On the flip side, the makers enjoy the cinematic liberty of keeping the introductory Jai & Ali's coming to Chicago scene unexplained, without any previous links or so, merely because the thief is an Indian. The first half is strictly not for those who rely on logic. The pace dips in the second half, which is followed by a romantic number. Though the romantic song is set on a large canvas & is ravishing but the run time seems to be outspread.

Yash Raj Films boasts of covetable crew, inter alia, and same is the scene with D:3. Screenplay/Story/Dialogues by Vijay Krishna Acharya are synchronous and nimble. After all, he has in-depth lore of Dhoom franchise. Ritesh Soni's editing is skittish. The supporting casts have been worthily casted by Rita Powers & Shanoo Sharma. Joel Hynek's picturesque VFX is spectacular with able support from Kotamraju Karthik (Visual Effects Coordinator). Adri Siriwatt's art direction and Sumit Basu's production design are *not* short of never-seen-before in Bollywood films till date. That too holds true for Manoshi Nath, Rushi Sharma & Anaita Shroff's costumes. Zsofia Otvos & Martina Sykes' makeup department concatenates with the art of such a grandiose movie to make the experience remarkable. Kurt E. Soderling's aerial photography & Sudeep Chatterjee's cinematography portrays Chicago, Zurich, Mumbai & Ticino in never-seen-before avatar, which is overwhelmingly impressive. Conrad Palmisano & Sham Kaushal's astir stunts are evidently dapper, raising goosebumps and keeping the audience hooked without even letting them blink for a jiffy. Nick Beyeler & Joe Dryden (body doubles: Amir Khan/Sahir), Emily Brobst (stunt double: Siddhartha Nigam), Shawnah Donley (stunt double: Katrina Kaif), Jef Groff (stunt double: Abhishek Bachchan) and Webster P. Whinery Jr. (motorcycle stunts) are namable.

Dhoom series, has always vaunted of blockbuster, all or quite the go music from the ever bona-fide chartbusting music director, Pritam. Without delving much into the picturisation of the songs, the music is a winner all the way. The Dhoom:3 version of the iconic title track ''Dhoom Machale'' (Lyrics: Sameer Anjan; Singer: Aditi Rao Sharma), is already a chartbuster, but only in parts, it matches up to its predecessors. The aristocratic ''Malang'' (Lyrics: Sameer Anjan; Singer: Siddharth Mahadevan & Shilpa Rao), has spanking fusion of sufi and rock, camouflaged in an Arabic, Western and Hindustani background with Dhoom signature tune in semi-classical 'alaaps'. Professionally trained gymnasts were flown in from the United States and trained in Mumbai for 20 days. ''Malang'' is the most expensive song in this movie. Around the central theme of gymnastics, this song has over 200 dancers in the frame. ''Kamli'' (lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya; Singer: Sunidhi Chauhan) is a fine mix of Urdu, Punjabi and simple Persian with Western arrangement and lyrics as the USP of the track. Keeping in mind the larger than life characters of the leads, ''Tu Hi Junoon'' (Lyrics: Kausar Munir; Singer: Mohit Chauhan), the love ballad, is in a high tempo, has some nice soft rock touches and soulful melody but is bare ordinary, even the chorus is not addictive or rhythmic and appears to be more of a pop/rock concert song. Then there is this Julius Packiam composed track "Bande Hain Hum Uske'' (Lyrics: Kausar Munir & Vijay Krishna Acharya; Singer: Shivam Mahadevan and Anish Sharma), which is strictly situational a la Taare Zameen Par (2007) mode. It is a standalone number. "Dhoom Tap", instrumental, (Music: Julius Packiam) is obviously the highlight conformation. It's a blazing annexation of high tempo rock, tap dance sounds and the awesome Dhoom signature tune that has been brilliantly applied to convey the feeling of horripilation. The cineastes will have a rollicking time confronting Vaibhavi Merchant's gambolling choreography & Dein Perry's jaunty, harsh & grunge Tap choreography. Julius Packiam's background score steepens the spirit sevenfold.

The portrayal of Sahir is candidly Aamir khan's one of the most challenging roles in recent times, leaving aside the physicality. The script & his character is such that it will win viewers' sympathy. He is a modern day clown, who may not make the audience laugh but he is someone who will entertain thoroughly. Gerald Zarcillia (of British origin) taught him martial arts and gymnastic techniques. Though he got to learn Acrobatics and French technique of Parkour, to focus on negotiating obstacles with speed and efficiency. He portrays his character to utter sauciness & perfection. His action justifies the revengeful factor in the movie. He is leery & slick in his plans. Katrina Kaif has also learned parkour, martial arts and other fighting techniques to play her part in the movie. She took paragliding training and singing lessons as well, which is avowedly evident in her portrayal of Aaliya. She never relinquishes from adding the required glamour quotient. She's roundly pre-eminent & displays the energy like never before. Her phenomenal dance is manifestly love worthy. Abhishek Bachchan is a disciplined & canny ACP once again. Uday Chopra pertinently does what he's best known for, tickle the funny bone. Jackie Shroff is effervescent in limited appearance.

On the whole, Dhoom 3 is the weakest movie of the series in terms of stunts but the strongest one, in respect of emotions, canvas & acting. It has tremendous recall value. Keeping in mind an enviable track record of Aamir Khan during the Christmas period, this year too, will end with dhoom. It is stately and fantastically shot Blockbuster, for sure. Go vroom & dhoomify yourself!

JACKPOT

1.5 stars

Controversial filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, credited for outside-the-box notabilities, with films ala Bombay Boys (1998) and Boom (2003). While former was an unorthodox comedy film, which traced the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai (or Bombay); the latter explored the involvement of the fashion world with underworld crime. He also has directed two short films, namely Lost & Found (1995) and Bombil and Beatrice (2007). His latest outing Jackpot, in his words, is conscious effort to get a taste of the commercial zone of cinema. It is exactly after a decade that the filmmaker is back in business. Coincidentally, Jackpot is the third outing for both Sachin Joshi, after a series of flops in Aazaan (2011) and Mumbai Mirror (2013) and Sunny Leone, in Jism 2 (2012) and Shootout at Wadala (2013) consecutively.

Jackpot is a fast paced comic full jhol thriller movie. It starts in Goa where Maya (Sunny Leone) and Francis Alamara (Sachin Joshi) are small time con artists cum casino manager & casino dealer respectively. But now they have got ambitious and want to pull one big time heist. The owner is Boss (Naseeruddin Shah) and they plan to win the jackpot at Poker. But the task isn’t easy as Naseeruddin is a formidable and cunning rival. The heist is shown in 10 chapters spread out over 10 days. Each chapter or day is about 10 minutes long. The theme of the movie is set in the world of casino boats and gambling in Goa.
Backwaters. Peace and silence. A lazy river. A House Boat comes into view. Rocking unsteadily. A gunshot. The boat begins to go down. A splash is heard. Over opening credits, a body falls into the still waters of the Chapora river. It makes a huge splash as it gets caught in fishing nets. The person starts to drown. A briefcase marked JACKPOT floats above the water. A pair of hands grabs it. The house boat starts to sink into the river. The movie goes backwards all the way to 10 days ago. In the process, we see how an amateur gang of people manage to enact the perfect comedy con, wherein they rig the casino boat in such a way as to win the 5 Crore Jackpot. They then stage their own robbery, and get away with the cash as well as the insurance against the cash. In doing so, the 5 members of the gang split up, they start to suspect each other and things go horribly wrong. The movie is told in reverse order - first we see what they do, and then we see how they did it. In other words, this is like a murder mystery - first we see the murder itself, and then we see how it was planned. In this story - first we see the heist and then we see how it was planned. This provides a new and novel way to tell a story. It is contemporary, urban, young, fresh and funny. This is a universal story about greed, trust and love. It is told in a fast and frenetic manner - complete with song, dance and action. Tocut the long story short, Jackpot is : Trust, Greed, Sex, Money, Poker and River.

To begin with, the viewers would be confused from the very onset as there is no apt story or screenplay (Kaizad Gustad) to keep them hooked to the narration.The style is best understood by Kaizad himself only. The Dop Artur Zurawski captures the scenic locales of Goa, with grey skies and the downpour aesthetically. Mehmood Khan's action is unserviceable with bouncers running behind a lone person & yet couldn't get hold of him. The art direction is exorbitantly splendid, which is evident from the very beginning, one scene that includes the 'jackpot drawing' with coloured chalks on a blackboard, particularly. Right from the repetitive costumes to selfsame places, it can be patently descried that the movie has been shot in 27 days merely, in one go. The dialogues are lewd consummately. Ponty (Bharath Srinivasan) points to Sunny's breasts and says Tera Poora Dimaag Idhar hai, to which Sunny replies back pointing towards his Thing, Agar Mera Dimaag Idhar Hota To Teri Mardangi Udhar Gir Gyi Hoti. The grotesqueness could be felt easily. The only plus point in the movie is its brisk editing, which, especially through the penultimate & ultimate moments takes the movie to tad interesting zone, where the director spills the beans, but then the story is too late to savour. The music is totally circumstanced, one that is excogitated to upbuild and carry forward the story. However two standout tracks, 'Kabhi Jo Badal Barse' (Music Director: Toshi Sabri, Sharib Sabri; Lyricist: Azeem Shirazi, A M Turaz; Singer: Arjit Singh) and 'Eggjactly' (Music Director/Lyricist/Singer: Javed Jaffrey), are putative killer & mordant tracks respectively. The rest of the songs, 'Full Jhol' (Music Director/Singer: Mika Singh; Lyricist: Abhiyan Rajhans), 'Bol Bugger Bol' (Music Director: John Stewart; Singer: Remo Fernandes), 'Jackpot Jeetna' (Music Director: John Stewart; Singer: Sunidhi Chauhan) and 'Now You See Now You Don't' (Music Director: Mika Singh; Lyricist: Ramya Iyer, Kaizad Gustad; Singer: Ramya Iyer) are substandard tracks teetotally.

Sachin Joshi is the producer of the film and which is why he gets to portray his talent as the lead actor too. He introduces the movie but I must admit, he is patently pathetic, consummately in his dialogue delivery, body language and expressions. What Boom is for Katrina Kaif, Jackpot is to Sunny Leone. She is merely a glamorous prop with firang accent. She is sexy and manipulative. She is evidently better than what she did in Jism 2 but still the fact remains the same that acting is not her cup of tea. The chemistry with Sachin too doesn't ooze oomph and is unbaked. It's enthralling to see her act right in front of her husband Daniel Weber, who has a suave mannered cameo. Sunny's fans won't get enough of her this time too, alike Jism 2, except a striptease scene in the penultimate moments, where her raw energy is overwhelming. But her fans do know well where to search for instead! Makrand Deshpande is befitting in his role of a lax policeman cum subsidiary in con. Bharath Srinivasan debuts competently. Though Naseeruddin Shah would regret after watching complete movie, he's the lone actor who has given a stellar performance.

On the whole, Jackpot has cleverly portrayed second half but overall, the movie cons the viewers big time into a jaded journey. It's candidly one of the worst movie to have churned out of Bollywood. Don't even THINK of watching this movie. A colossal disappointment that will bore the movie buffs to death and hence, wouldn't translate into footfalls!

LUCKY KABOOTAR

1 star

Each and every year there are some Fridays, where the cineastes bear testimony to diverse releases at the box office. This happens pervasively due to the absence of a biggie, thus giving vantage forsmall films to obtain distinction. This week too, the moviebuffs get to witness varied releases, out of which debutant Shammi Chhabra's Lucky Kabootar have comparatively petty conversant actors and has a provocative premise attached to it. But there are times which turn out to be a nightmare as the audience gets bewildered over their selection of watching a movie due to the multiple releases. So whether 'Lucky Kabootar' will turn out to be the lucky underdog and manage to win its audiences' hearts or might end up being unnoticed due to its lesser known star cast in comparison with the other releases this week, let's find out.

'Lucky Kabootar' is story of Lucky Singh (Eijaz Khan) who is married to the girl-next-door Laxmi (Kulraj Randhawa) and still desires to get married to the most popular girl in the village Kaamna (Shradha Das). Laxmi loves Lucky, but Lucky is least interested in her. One day, Lucky comes to know that Laxmi is dead in a fire accident and due to which he will be compensated one crore rupees. This news also tries to fulfill Lucky's dream of getting married to Kaamna. But his dream gets hit by a big speed break and what happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Story (Abhay Kanwar and Shyam Goel), on overall basis has a B-grade turned Bollywood sort of screenplay (Shammi Chhabra), with wonderful situational comedy, which manages to hold the viewers' attention in the first instance. But largely due to despondent editing (Kuldip K Mehan) and overdose of double meaning sexual innuendos combined with vulgar expressions, director Shammi Chhabra abrades a novel script by converting it into an adult comedy. Hence, the exhaustive efficacy is dilapidated. The title of the movie too has consummately no pertinence to the film The whole treatment of the movie is frivolous where the females are either bathing in the water or fantasizing about their lovers or trying to seduce someone, to mention a few. Then there is uproarious Punjabi tone, which won't go with the non-Punjabi audience. There are many side tracks which should have been staved off. Genuinely, Sharadha Das singing English song scene is a laughathon, notably. Besides one or two comical scenes, the movie is absolutely an insult to the viewers' susceptibilities. The cinematography by Lenin Zevior has nothing worth mentioning about. The dialogues have been straightly pilfered by B-Grade adult comedies, turning a benign concept into stimulant trash. Music by Santokh Singh and lyrics by Sameer Anjaan are worthless except for the qawwali 'Haal Da Marham' (Singer: Santokh Singh, Kamaal Khan). Rest all the songs, 'Tumba' (Singer: Bhavya Pandit, Mika Singh), 'Kirpa Babe Di' (Singer: Labh Janjua), 'Dj Te Gulabo Nachdi' (Singer: Big Nikk, Santokh Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan) and 'Mein Nahi Rahna Tere Naal' (Singer: Sunidhi Chauhan) are fortuitous, do not go down with the film and are ineptly shot with almost all the characters dancing in lewd manner (Choreographer: Vishnu Deva). Nyandeo Paikro (Art Director) should feel remorseful. The Punjabis should take umbrage for their incongruous delineation. Even the gauche climax scene is utterly disgusting.

Eijaz Khan is the apt choice for his role. He is effectual throughout. Kulraj Randhawa looks photogenic and enacts her part very well. Well, it's shame to see such a talent in awful film like this. Shradha Das, the temptress and Madhavi Sharma ooze oomph. Ravi Kishan falls flat in his role. Sanjay Mishra as Sexydaas baba, has overdone his role with his double-meaning jokes, crap dialogues and vexatious expressions that includes Satya Sai baba's hairdo and yesteryears' villain Jeevan's unprecedented nasal twang and trademark dialogue delivery. Rana Jung Bahadur is wasted.

To sum up, the makers have literally shown a middle finger to the audiences in the film's poster itself. The film must have been cleared with an Adults-only certificate. So if you like 'B-Grade' sorts of films alike Grand Masti or Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum, followed by loud Punjabi backdrop, then you might savour this movie. But for the rest cinematic sensed viewers, this 'Lucky Kabootar' will make you unlucky sitting through the film. It is deplorable that the film comes from the house of Late Raj Kanwar, who once made hulking films for mass audience. Should be avoided at all cost. Films like this should not even get a pertinent release. A ham-fisted attempt!

R...RAJKUMAR

 2.5 stars

Action masala movies are savour of the season, factually. But lately, the genre have not really caught the fancy of the audience, with immensely anticipated & overrated movies turned out to be damp squib. There are certain substances which cineastes surmise from masala flicks but all those neoteric masala potboilers lack that minimal exigencies. However, bearing in mind the fact that Prabhudheva, who has been carving space for himself as a director, has proved his mettle time and again when it comes to his field of expertise – masala entertainers and dance. It has been ages since Shahid Kapoor delivered a true-blue hit and after the recent disaster in the form of RAMAIYA VASTAVAIYA for Prabhudeva, the two of them really need some luck going and how! Not merely forsooth is R...Rajkumar the maiden venture for the duo, it also marks the novel inning for Shahid Kapoor with Sonakshi Sinha (Male & Female Leads) and Prabhu Dheva with Pritam Chakraborty (Director & Music Director) as well. For the uninitiated, the film was earlier titled Rambo Rajkumar. But the makers of the original Rambo series of Hollywood had copyrighted the word Rambo, making it unavailable for usage by other filmmakers. However, since the film's title is already known among the audience, the makers decided on dropping a few letters from the title, rechristening it to R... Rajkumar & even dubbed some scenes with ROMEO Rajkumar.

R...Rajkumar – a romantic action love story set in dusty and rugged backdrop of the Hindi Heartland in Dhartipur has Shahid Kapoor essaying the role of Rajkumar - a rugged, rebellious, passionate small-time goon, trapped in a crime, who also has devilish charm. One moment he makes you feel really comfortable and the very next, completely ill at ease! Rajkumar is sexy, brooding and raw. He is a rebel without a cause, leads a carefree life and works for a drug baron named Shivraj (Sonu Sood). Rajkumar's latest mission is to eliminate the rival drug dealer of Shivraj, Manik Parmar (Ashish Vidyarthi). But his life changes forever when he claps eyes on Chanda (Sonakshi Sinha) – a epitome of beauty. Although she is educated, she has a rustic charm and is feisty. She is independent with a mind of her own. She has you weak in the knees one moment and running for safety at the very next. A perfect amalgamation of sugar and spice. No matter how tough a situation is, the moment he sees his girl, he forgets what he’s supposed to do. He even calls his lady love Lollypop. What Rajkumar doesn't know is that her parents died when she was young and her only surviving relative is Manik Parmar. After some persistent wooing, Chanda succumbs to Rajkumar’s charm and falls in love with him. But before their love can flourish, Shivraj falls in love with Chanda. If he wants Chanda, he has to destroy the deadly drug cartel, to which both Shivraj and Parmar owe allegiance, that is operated from Madhya Pradesh and has its roots in Malaysia. The drug cartel is controlled by a Mafia don named Ajit Taaka (Srihari), who is back in India. How Rajkumar manages to destroy the huge drug cartel and gets Chanda back, forms the crux of the movie.

The first half packs a solid punch with sequences/moments managing to keep the viewers attentive (story - Prabhu Deva). The rapid pace, redounding in shaping the story (screenplay - Ravi S Sundaram, Prabhu Deva and Sunil Agarwal) coerce the spectators to believe in the all-rounder qualities of the protagonist, that is, to romance, sing, dance and flex muscles, when required. Prabhu Dheva has been serving us the same dish, albeit in new avatars and modifications successfully, with prominence on romance yet again in R… RAJKUMAR, with action (Ravi Varma) being the icing on the cake, which is stark hardcore & barbaric this time. Alike every single masala fare, the foot-tapping songs at regular intervals, uplift the mood of the enterprise, with  'Gandi Baat', 'Saree Ke Fall Sa' and 'Mat Maari' already being the chartbusters. The lyrics (Anupam Amod, Ashish Pandit, Mayur Puri and Nilesh Mishra) too are mass appealing, with South Indian touch in them. The background music by Sandeep Chowta is unerring, that goes with the mood of the movie throughout, notably the kissing sound. With dialogues (Shiraz Ahmed) already a rage among movie buffs, Shahid Kapoor's mouthing them with manful yawl will make the viewers go gaga. Watch out for Shahid in the high-voltage action scene following the interval and the scene, when he proposes Sonakshi. He is an absolute scene stealer with whom common people could easily relate to. Not only he's fierce in bashing goons, he is equally worth drooling over in his dance steps (choreography - Bosco Martis, Caesar Gonsalves and Vishnu Deva) and jaw-dropping chiselled body. Prabhu Dheva is making a norm lately, of appearing specifically in a dance number and his latest offering is no exception. It's a delight watching him & Shahid matching steps altogether. The movie too has some striking visuals (Dop Mohana Krishna). Overall, the first half deserves to be lauded again and again, with claps & whistles.

It's only the second half that makes the movie plain trash. Right from the drama, comedy to unwanted scenes with editing (Ballu Saluja)  are shaky, muddled and predictable. The movie gets stagnant with gauche songs like 'Kaddu Katega' entwined in the narration that checks the patience of the viewers. The puerile humor and predictable goings-on act as dampeners. The rum time should have been trimmed down, *only* in the second half, to atleast 20 minutes or so. The dialogues too are in bad taste in this particular half. The director as well as the screenplay writers completely lose the plot, as the story is done to death, hence the lackluster screenplay seems conventional. There being an overdose of masala films, one can actually foresee what's there in the offering. The setting (production designer - Nitin Chandrakant Desai) has no roots (where is this village, who are these people?). It's the elaborated climax that provides respite to the hoi polloi, only because of Shahid's hardcore action.

Shahid Kapoor is synonymous with romantic roles due to his suave look but R...Rajkumar is his foray into the league of action superstar. He gives his heart & soul to the movie. His scorching screen presence is brilliantly portrayed with infectious gusto. Right from his impeccable comic timings to stalking his lady love and bashing the goons, are evidently palpable. There aren't any action scene where he looks odd or unbelievable in beating up the goons, who are almost three times more powerful than him. Sonakshi Sinha is a complete mismatch for an actor of caliber ala Shahid. She needs to reinvent herself. She is genuinely getting wasted. Sonu Sood & Ashish Vidyarthi try too hard to be the mandatory villain but fail teetotally in portraying villainy, except a scene or two. Ashish Vidyarthi goes topless more number of times than Shahid Kapoor and Sonu Sood put together, which is clearly not a pleasant sightAsrani, Mukul Dev, Srihari and Poonam Jhawar are passable and have nothing stimulant to offer. Scarlett Wilson, Charmy Kaur and Ragini Dwivedi are there in the songs to ooze oomph.

To sum up, R…Rajkumar is typically a Prabhu Dheva style movie, fully loaded with over the top action sequences and loud dialogues. Prabhu Dheva has put in full effort to extract the best from Shahid Kapoor. R… Rajkumar has everything to be a successful masala potboiler, starting from Shahid Kapoor’s mesmerizing dance, good dialogues to power packed stunts. Critics be damned, give this one a shot. The movie never loses its grip on ‘Pyaar Pyaar  Pyaar and Maar Maar Maar', in the meanwhile, it loses everything while doing so. It's an easy & forgettable watch.

BULLETT RAJA

2.5 stars

When the likes of writer/director Tigmanshu Dhulia aka Ramadhir Singh of Anurag Kashyap's acclaimed modern cult film Gangs of Wasseypur is conversant with the technicalities of one of such outings, one thing is rest assured that the dreaded gangster tale of the Hindi heartland, dealing with the political and industrial powers of the state couldn’t be better delineated than his unco style. Bullett Raja (U/A) is produced by Rahul Mittra, Nitin Tej Ahuja and Tigmanshu Dhulia, under the banner of BrandSmith Motion Pictures and Moving Pictures. The film is presented by Fox Star Studios. The movie also marks the admittance of an unhackneyed pair in Bollywood -- Saif Ali Khan & Sonakshi Sinha. Tigmanshu Dhulia belongs to that unwonted breed of directors whose films namely Haasil (2003), Charas (2004), Shagird (2011), Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011), Paan Singh Tomar (2012) and Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013), have the right amalgam of off-beat and commercial, which have garnered him accolades too, yet his films are entertaining as well as realistic sans superstars. But his latest offering Bullett Raja has a huge universal appeal because this time, Dhulia is going all "commercial" to inveigle not only his aficionados but also the masses around.

This is the story of a common Brahmin man, Raja Mishra, a faithful friend and a loyal lover, living life on his own rules, commanding respect and fearing no one, who transforms into a dreaded, care a damn attitude gangster of U.P. A victim of the system and chained by it, Raja's life changes as he loses his dear friend which leads him to vent and he takes on those that rule and shakes the very foundations of the nexus of the police, the government, and the industrialists. As he rises and revolts against the system becoming an outlaw, Bullett sets ablaze the nexus and changes the landscape forever. The powers that be, fight back in a compelling struggle for power and money against the backdrop of personal ambitions, greed and revenge. Redefining love, friendship and loyalty, Bullett Raja creates a world, where a common man, tests his endurance and fortitude against the very system he once obediently followed and then declared a war on it! In the battle to avenge his friend's death the film travels from Uttar Pradesh to Kolkata and starts a bloody vendetta & the movie solely resorts to the aim of seeking revenge.

Bullett Raja is a typical masala potboiler and Dhulia's tribute to the movies of 80s & 90s.  Visually, as always, his films are not fancy & chromatic and that itself is the beauty of his world and his latest outing is no exception -- agrestic, unpolished and yet stylish. The production design captures authentic milieu and details of Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata & Mumbai, keeping it real at all times. Kudos to the art director (Dhananjay Mondal) as well as the DoP (P S Vinod), for lending an infallible support thoroughly. The story (Amaresh Misra and Tigmanshu Dhulia) has been written, keeping Saif Ali Khan in mind and he is phenomenal. He is ‘rangeen’ who respects women, dances with them and does every that thing which brings smile on their faces. On the other side, when it comes to avenge, he never hesitates to insert the bullets into the baddies. The USP of the movie are once again the dialogues (Tigmanshu Dhulia), which are not gimmicky; the events, which are not inspired by any previous flick and the locations as well. Dhulia's interest in presenting the local politics could be easily garnered from numerous sequences including the conversations between Saif and Jimmy, which are lively, contemporary & hilarious at the same time. The camaraderia between Saif & Jimmy is the *sole* factor, that is worth mentioning & laudable. Parvez Fazal Khan’s action scenes are real and a welcome departure from South-esque goons flying sort of stunts. Background score by Sajid-Wajid is superlative & produces the desired impact. Priyanka Mundada's costumes highlight the feel of U.P. Dhulia's direction is overall efficacious.

On the flip side, the screenplay (Amaresh Misra and Tigmanshu Dhulia) is shacky & dishearteningly terrible. Right from the entry scene of Sonakshi Sinha, the romantic scenes that follow to the songs (Sajid-Wajid & guest composer RDB) and the dragging climax, are a complete bore. In fact, the film stagnates after a brilliant start and right till the climax, it never regains its momentum & impact. Particularly, the second half will bore the viewers to death. The lyrics (Sandeep Nath, Kausar Munir, Shabbir Ahmed and Raftaar) will cater mainly to the masses in the hinterland. There is absolutely nothing for the multiplex and class audience. The editing (Rahul Shrivastava and Rohit Mhatre) should have been made watertight by trimming down the movie to atleast 20 minutes or so.

Saif Ali Khan isn’t a Langda Tyagi here but he is even more entertaining. He displays the Brahmin character, so different from his urban, suave, lover-boy image, with immense zeal and steals the show all over. The audiences will again go ballistic at his raw, edgy and stellar portrayal. Saif has got the accent and the mannerisms of a small-town gangster down pat & the body language is impeccable as well. In a perfect case of casting against type, Saif Ali Khan goes macho & looks red hot, tough, heroic and does all the things worth whistles (his heart even beats like never before for the 156th girl (Sonakshi Sinha) he meets).

Sonakshi Sinha is getting typecast as the female lead in commercial masala outings, be it Dabangg, Dabangg 2, Rowdy Rathore or the upcoming R... Rajkumar. She once again has a similar limited scope of being an apple of the eye for the hero. For the entire first half, it is easy to give Saif a miss because Jimmy Sheirgill is once again the show stealer, equally understated in jocularity and intensity. Vidyut Jamwal is hard-hitting as a cop and fearlessly performs stunts at his own, which are jaw-dropping. Long way to go man! Mahi Gill continues to slay with her oomph. Gulshan Grover is earnest. Raj Babbar does a fair job. Ravi Kishan, Chunkey Panday and Sharat Saxena are wasted. Rajiv Gupta provides some genuine laughs. Vipin Sharma & Deepraj Rana leave their marks. Vishwajit Pradhan, Gaurav Dixit (as the artist), Udayveer Singh (as the SP), Gyani (as the minister), Sri Gaur (as Raja Mishra’s father), Praveen (as Rudra’s father), Mamta Saxena (as Raja’s mother), Meeta Pant (as Rudra’s mother), Sushil Shukla (as Ram Babu Shukla’s PA), Dulal Lahiri (as Mitali’s father), Maumita Gupta (as Mitali’s mother), Shekhar Banerjee (as Mitali’s uncle), Shorbani Chatterjee (as Mitali’s aunt), Debjani Ghosh (as Mitali’s grandmother), Sudip Mukherjee and Sandip Sarkar (both as goons in Kolkata) lend apt support.

On the whole, It's neither over-the-top like Dabangg nor it is worth a single shot. Tigmanshu Dhulia's execution easily affirms his position as one of top notch directors but the shaky & boring screenplay spoils the fun. The movie is insipid, go watch the official trailer again and again, because the trailer has everything & the movie has nothing more than that. An extra half star for Jimmy & Saif.

GORI TERE PYAAR MEIN!

2.5 stars

Romedy -- Romance with Comedy is an immensely exhilarant watch due to the colourful set-up, goluptious chemistry between the lead pair, foot-tapping songs and most importantly, the witty lingo. Though romedies have now become a routine affair in Bollywood, the execution of every new movie churning out of this genre, teetotally depends on how innovative the storyteller could think on. Dharma Productions’ Gori Tere Pyaar Mein! is not an unaccustomed story, but Punit Malhotra has ascended his touchstones by delivering an endearing & wicked movie, which is delectable, without an ounce of melodrama, leaving the viewers with a evanescent happy kick. Here, the set-up is a mix of both urban & rural and the tension is ideological, wiithout any clash of religion, caste & whatsoever.

Sriram Venkat (Imran Khan) is a free-spirited American studied & Bengaluru based architect. He simply stays away from social values, relationships, family, friends or the country. He shares a crazy relationship with this girlfriend Dia Sharma (Kareena Kapoor), who plays the role of a passionate social activist trying to change the world. The attraction was physical initially, but gradually turns into an emotional one. However, the relationship gradually turns into a veer owing to the difference in opinion and clash of ideologies that finally get them out of the relation. The reason being, Sriram believed that charity begins and ends at home while Dia believed that need to be the change you are seeking. Sriram however believed that relation with Dia is not over and Vasudha Natrajan(Shraddha Kapoor) makes Sriram realise that he still loves Dia as he remembers every little detail about their love story. He follows his ladylove in a remote village in Gujarat, Jhumli. Dia is now fighting to have a bridge constructed over a river so that lives of the villagers could be exalted. Sriram, who hates village life, soon finds himself helping Dia and putting his architecture education to use in constructing the bridge. What follows ahead is the tumultuous journey in their love life and a happy ending in this run-of-the-mill story.

The movie is a coming of age movie with focus on contemporary relationships and interactions. The movie has two distinctly diverse parts. The metro-based first half may remind the viewers of Punit Malhotra's debut outing, I Hate Luv Storys. Right from the witty interactions, screenplay (Arshad Syed & Punit Malhotra), styling (costumes - Manish Malhotra and Megha Tandon) to songs (Vishal-Shekhar) & lyrics (Anvita Dutt Guptan, Kausar Munir and Rakesh Kumaar), the movie will bowl you over. The placement of the songs as well as the synchronous lyrics, which are chartbusters already, uplift the mood of the narration. The first half has some genuinely funny & emotional scenes. The first meeting of Imran with Kareena's father is a laughathon. Watch out for the first confrontation of Imran with Shraddha's boyfriend Kamal (Tanvir Singh) and the scene when Imran fights over the ideologies of both him and Dia, which prove that Imran is maturing as a romantic hero. He is a scene-stealer here. The interactions between Imran & Shraddha, particularly the marriage sequence, are brilliant. In short, the first half of the film is nothing short of a marvel for the director, which is just two movies old. He has full command in his writing as well as the execution with slick production values and has left no loose ends. Kudos to him. Cinematography (Mahesh Limaye) captures the urban scenario as well as the rural setting adroitly. The background score by the credible Salim-Sulaiman is nailing.

On the flip side, the rural second half is a complete let down. Alike this year's Raanjhanaa, which is also a romedy, the movie takes a U-turn & the director starts losing its grip on the narration, which results in making this half unbearable. The viewers will be exhausted by the over-stretched climax as well. This part of the movie is humourless and plain boring, which outweighs the impact of the very effective first half and even seems to be a spoof on Ashutosh Gowarikar's Swades. Even the presence of veteran like Anupam Kher, couldn't save this particular part. The production value is so lousy here that both the leads are having a benign time in wearing all the expensive outfits without even a bit of dust or anything on them in such a rustic village. Their make-up too seems perfect every single time, they appear on the screen.

Imran Khan performs his usual eyebrow dancing role with panache all through, which is tailor-made for him alike Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu‘s lead man. He is bound to win the viewers over from becoming a reckless youngster to a scrupulous man. His role is labyrinthine though. Kareena Kapoor doesn't show any histrionics. She is pretty and worthy as ever. It is Shraddha Kapoor, who promises to be a bankable actress right from her debut. She is spanking. Nizhalgal Raviee (as Sriram’s father) and Sujatha Kumar (as Sriram’s mother) lend able support. Anupam Kher has overacted thoroughly as collector Lateshbhai Danishbhai Shah. Neelu Kohli (as Dia’s mother) and Manoj Bakshi (as Dia’s father) provide good support. Anandi Ramachandran (as Vasudha’s mother), R. Balasubramaniam (as Vasudha’s father), Sreekant K. (as Sriram’s elder brother, Jayram), Kalyani (as Sriram’s sister-in-law), Tanvir Singh (as Kamal), Sachi Maker (as Joshna), Vallabh Gada (as Mohanbhai), Madhav Gogte (as Lateshbhai’s father), Kavish Majumdar (as Bhavtesh), Vineet Singh (as Mahato), Bhamini Oza (as Laali), Farzil Pardiwala (as Budhna), Jatin Sharma (as Rattan) and Feroz Bhagat (as Kirtibhai) are competent.

On the whole, the movie is strongly for the multiplex audiences and has a potent message on love, family, social & emotional values and overall, life. If romcoms are your taste and due to its coming of age content including Imran Khan's pithy acting, give this one a shot, but don't expect anything gargantuan and you would have a pleasing time.

SINGH SAAB THE GREAT     3 stars


Anil Sharma & Sunny Deol --- the names behind one of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema -- Gadar - Ek Prem Katha. Time and again, he reinvented the man with "dhai kilo ka haath", be it The Hero: Love Story of a Spy or Apne. But what has been treated as the comeback vehicle for the duo, after the debacle of Veer and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, respectively for Anil Sharma and Sunny Deol, is laced with clapworthy dialogues, radical confrontations, hi-octane drama and of course, the macho Sunny's might to surmount the subjugators. Singh Saab The Great is the most novel masala attempt of recent times. The director has a clear vision of an Indian crusader, though the waggly screenplay tends to make you hapless at times, but the movie has it all in trademark Anil Sharma style, that could even be noted as the sequel of Gadar - Ek Prem Katha in terms of soliloquy about religion and righteousness.

With not anything maiden to look forward to in the storyline, the movie is a homage to the cinema of the 1980s when Sunny was the daredevil laid down to bring on a social reclamation.

The story indeed has its heart and *haath* in the right place. Director Anil Sharma and writer Shaktimaan Talwar enswathe the film with all sorts of ingredients that connect with the masses pronto. Sunny Deol’s turban-clad Avatar will be received with claptraps by the viewers. Singh Saab‘s story is comprehensively ingenious, which widens its reach for every kind of audiences. The movie maintains a substantial grip on emotions and sentiments homogeneously. Confrontations are fiery consummately, especially the one when Sunny and Prakash Raj meet for the very first time or the one when Sunny throws Prakash Raj in the fire, following the interval. The larger than life stunts by Kanal Kannan and Tinnu Verma suit the Lion called Sunny Deol and the writer makes sure to capitalize on this. When he loves, he loves hard; when he hits, he hits harder; but when he roars, he roars the hardest. No one but Sunny can convey action better through eyes. S Gopinath (DoP) lends dexterous support. The whole team should be appreciated in making a socially conscious and relevant film. The preachings by Guru Gobind Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Vivekananda and Bhagat Singh build the base of all the trials of Sunny Deol, which are thought-provoking consummately. Dialogues are bound to be loved by the masses. They are hard-hitting.

On the flip side, the romantic angle and the intimate scene between Sunny and Urvashi Rautela are tad awkward (She's showing enough of her back for Sunny to kiss every five minutes in the first half of the film and she is limited to merely a glamourized prop, except the scene of her death), the songs (Anand Raj Anand and Sonu Nigam) are forced, terrible and loud & the choreography (Rekha and Chinni Prakash) is vulgar, the lyrics (Anand Raj Anand, Rakesh Kumaar and Sameer Anjaan) are tacky, the run time (Editor - Ashfaq Makrani) should be trimmed down by a good 20 minutes and lastly the intention of the Badlaav take a backseat as the movie comes to its end because ultimately the movie is cliched of being a masala affair.

Sunny Deol (Collector Saranjeet Talwar/Sunny/Singh Saab) is the only macho man of Bollywood who is most apt for roles where he needs to illustrate muscle power to slay the goons. He beats the living daylights out of villains. He is solemn in his vehement role. The masses would go gaga as he delivers mighty dialogues in his pre-eminent trademark style. The debutante Urvashi Rautela (Minni) is evidently drop dead gorgeous but she has nothing noticeable to offer except her emotions in the hospital scene, following her death. Amrita Rao (Shikha Chaturvedi) enacts the role of a carking and truth-seeking Tezz Aaj Tak news reporter with gusto but her Hindi heartland accent is all-out annoying. She leaves a solid impact in the penultimate moments. Anjali Abrol (Guddi) is competent, playing the role of Sunny's lone younger sister. Alan Kapoor (Guddi's husband) is there only. Johny Lever is entertaining and loud as ever. Rajit Kapoor, Sanjay Mishra, Yashpal Sharma, Manoj Pahwa, Shahbaaz Khan, and Aseem Merchant don't get much scope to show what real talents they possess. The kid enacting the part of Sunny's nephew is cute. And last but not the least, Prakash Raj (Bhoodev Singh) is menacing, dispiteous and has shown that evil spark in every single frame. Since Singham, Bhudev is absolutely despicable but the viewers could feel pity for him when they see his attachment to his daughter, specifically in the climax. He is phenomenal while mouthing evil in the dialect of U.P. He is getting typecast but still he is the most dreaded villain of recent times. What a talent he is! Without him enacting villainy, Sunny would not have been such impactful.

On the whole, Singh Saab The Great has its moments for each and every section of the society. Right from the pummeling duels to the potent message, the movie is satiating. Welcome back the indomitable duo for what they are -- Anil Sharma and Sunny Deol. A Great film for typical Sunny Deol fans. Not-to-be-missed.

KRRISH 3

4 STARS

Koi...Mil Gaya (2003), lambasted and ridiculed by critics based on imputations of it being a rip off of popular Hollywood film E.T, embarked a maiden journey of the Sci-fi wave in Hindi cinema, which enwreathed the typical Indian emotions with technology to tug at the heartstrings of not only the Indian audience but also the audiences across the globe. Rakesh Roshan took forward one of the most seminal franchises with Krrish (2006) and procreated a superhero, that was Indian in true manner. Though it was plagued with grievous shortcomings too but the scale, budget, characters, story et al just got exquisite. The hype around lush films releasing on Diwali is inexpugnable as the festive season has traditionally remained the most profitable money spinning eve for Bollywood with its capacitation to draw hordes of holiday moviegoers & Krrish 3 is no exclusion, where the review is mere a ceremonialism. It retains the story of noble versus sinful but right from the plot, special effects, emotions, action sequences and characters to the evil tyrant, Rakesh Roshan inches to give himself a punishing challenge as he accommodates himself to the time & mindset of younger spectators and makes sure that the flick is bound to excel the standards set a la Hollywood.

After defeating the despicable Dr. Siddhant Arya (Naseruddin Shah), and bringing his father Rohit back from the dead, Krrish continued fighting against evil and saving innocent lives. Krishna is living a happily married life with Priya (Priyanka Chopra), while Rohit is using his scientific brilliance to benefit society by working on a project that reverts life to dead organisms. Krrish is everyone’s favorite superhero saviour. Unknown to them, a dark force is growing in another part of the world. The owner of a sizable pharmaceutical company, Kaal (Vivek Oberoi), an evil genius, is selfishly misusing his powers (he doesn’t know why he has them) to loft fear, death and destruction by spreading an oddish man-made virus that induces an extensive epidemic in Mumbai. And he is being assisted by an army of very dangerous beings called maanvar — a combination of maanas and jaanwar — created by Kaal through an experiment. He is handicapped and is able to cure himself. Not long after Kaal’s plans are put into action, both Rohit and Krrish find themselves faced with a crisis of epic proportions, which only they can resolve, together. But when they finally cross paths with Kaal and his army, neither of them is prepared for what lies ahead. Kaal not only brings the world to the brink of disaster, he also puts the strength and love of Krishna and his family to the test. Krrish has to somehow find the power within to face the unbeatable foe.

Red Chillies VFX, a subdivision of Shah Rukh's motion picture production banner Red Chillies Entertainment, worked on the special effects,that are of Hollywood standards and complimented well by prosthetics. Hats off to Rakesh Roshan for thinking first and then executing the arduous task with sensibilities and finesse. It's his most accomplished work till date. Full marks for the director's vision in second half. The biggest USP is the emotional quotient entwined with good content cum VFX. Krrish 3 is evidently the technical marvel of recent times. Chandan Arora’s editing is okay. S. Thiru’s cinematography is fantastic. Action and stunts, choreographed by Tony Ching siu Tung and Sham Kaushal, are worthy of huge round of applauses. Salim-Sulaiman’s background music vastly makes the drama impactful and is fantastic. Picturisation of the songs (Chinni Prakash, Raju Khan and Remo D’souza) is exquisite. There are plenty of clap-worthy scenes in the first-half. The penultimate and the ultimate moments will leave the spectators moist-eyed and jaw-dropped as well. The ' Man Of Steel' sort of climax is the highlight of the enterprise.

However, it isn’t entirely faultless. The movie should have been done without songs as Rajesh Roshan's music is dated and Dil Tu Hi Bata is the standout song with Sameer Anjan's lyrics highlighting the mood. The languid pace in the first half, which takes too much time in fabricating the atmosphere and establishing the characters. The mutants are underutilized. The runtime should have been 15-20 minutes less.

Hrithik Roshan emotes expressions through his eyes & this time his chiseled body does all the talkings. Just drool over Krishna, cheer for the septuagenarian Rohit Mehra and feel the helplessness as well with both of them. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that the voice modulation and physical attributes are the components that only Hrithik Roshan could ever concentrate on cumulatively & portray them adroitly. He's mettlesome to the core in playing the titular role. Priyanka Chopra does a fine job. The post-interval portions are sincerely portrayed. Kangana Ranaut is deadly and personable at the same time throughout. She has meatier role than Priyanka & this could win her plaudits. Rajpal Yadav is there for what he's known for -- impeccable comic timing. Amitabh Bachchan's voiceover is successively becoming a tradition with Indian superhero movies. Arif Zakaria (as Dr. Shetty), Asif Basra (as Dr. Alok Sen), Raju Kher, Yusuf Hussain, master Faizan Khan (as Vicky), Sachin Khedekar, Mohnish Bahl and Gargi Patel provide dexterous support as cameo appearances. Rakhi Vijan, Ehsaan Khan, Gowhar Khan (as frog man), Sameer Ali Khan (as ant man), Nazia Shaikh (as cheetah woman), Danniel Kaleb (as rhino man), Shaurya Chauhan (as scorpion woman), Amrit Pal Singh (as swordfish man), Vineet Sharma (as pilot), Ajay Verma (as co-pilot), Mamta (as Vicky’s mother), Baldev Trehan (as the old man in the mall) and Sanobar Pardiwala (as the mother in the mall) are congruent. Vivek Oberoi, last but not the least, redefines villainy. He's a super-villain indeed, no two doubts in that, without whom Krrish wouldn't have been such heroic. His eyes spread venom thoroughly. He gets his due this time. Bravo!

My concluding note is --- An event like Krrish 3 is worth the blow of trumpets and the fanfare. Krrish 3 erects a tersely ameliorating standards for Bollywood. Well-equipped with spectacular range of special effects, extravagant action sequences and the emotional quotient on the higher side for the family audiences, it is Rakesh Roshan's way of wishing a crackling, thundering and roaring Diwali. Latch onto pronto and give ovation to one of the most ponderable director of recent times as it has Blockbuster written all over it. Make way, the box-office history will be rewritten!

SOOPER SE OOPER    1 star


Low-budgeted movies turned out to be quite a game changer in Bollywood these days. But a film released with neither any promotion nor any hype or hoopla, will be discarded by the masses, no two doubts in that. It's a matter of sheer negligence to make a movie with such great effort & persistence and releasing it without highlighting about the concept, motive of the movie and for whom it has been made & that too without any renowned name attached to it. The trailer, though, gave us the feeling that the movie would provide some genuine laughs but alas! it turned out to be just the contrary with immature plot, direction & acting.

Without delving much in the storyline & to cut the long story short, the movie is based on property feud due to which a Mumbai-based lad Ranvir Singh aka Dholu (Vir Das) is forced to look out for his long lost forgotten Maama/Madhav Singh Rathod (Gulshan Grover), to claim his rightful property from illegally getting in the hands of Kukreja (Deepak Dobriyal) and Salim Bhai (Tinnu Anand). He goes off to a village Shekhawati in Rajasthan for the same, as he has only 30 days to claim. That's it. He gets struck there, somehow returns back to Mumbai, falls his head over heels to Gulabbo (Kirti Kulhari) and the endless list goes on & on of his problems, with a hurried climax that sets everything right.

Frankly, these sorts of stories seem quite good in the paper but doesn't even deserve to be made into a movie of 109 minutes. The film has nothing novel to offer. It keeps on dragging right from the very beginning to the point it becomes a sore for the eyes. The second half is even more sluggish. To make the situation worst, the movie has got substandard songs as well. The director cum story writer (Shekhar Ghosh) is clueless throughout. The DoP (Mohana Krishna) too seems overshadowed by the amateurish idea of the director. Music Directors (Bickram Ghosh & Sonu Nigam) should be given no future assignments of composing songs for any movie. The dialogues are ubiquitously plain ordinary. The talented bunch of actors are wasted with poor acting as well.

Vir das does a commendable job but doesn't quite experiment neither with his looks nor acting. Kirti Kulhari, Gulshan Grover, Yashpal Sharma, Mahesh Balraj, Mohan Kapoor & Tinnu Anand (cameo) are wasted. Deepak Dobriyal is competent, though he performs over the board.

On the whole, Sooper Se Ooper would result in a huge loss to all the concerned. For the uninitiated, don't even search for it on the net.

MICKEY VIRUS   3.5 stars

Gen Y, the successor to Gen X, is novel with the idea of Hacker movies in Bollywood, to be precise, whereas it is a perdurable affair in the West (read Hollywood). But to base a story on hacking, wholly, entwined with right dose of romance (read skin show), humor (read toilet humor), emotions and most importantly thrill (read astounding suspense) and that too in the heartland, Delhi, the place of douchebag yet prudent persons, is indeed a wacky idea, & Mickey Virus is the result. Kudos to the Hindi film industry for churning out such ideas.

Two foreign hackers in Delhi are injected with lethal chemical & killed in broad daylight, unbeknown to the police. To solve the enigmatical cyber crime case, ACP Siddhant Chauhan (Manish Choudhary) and his aide-de-camp Inspector Devender Bhalla (Varun Badola) employ a 20-something lethargic yet street-smart sly hacker Mickey Arora or Mickey Virus, as he is popularly known as, who operates with the pseudonym Kung Fu Chameli in cyberspace. He is taking forward his legacy by controlling his mother's grocery store in the day and creates viruses and quirky softwares in the night with his allies Shalu Sharma aka Chutney (Puja Gupta), Manjot Gill aka Floppy (Raghav Kakkar) and Palwindar Singh aka Pancho (Vikesh Kumar) with learnings from Professor Utpal Acharya (Nitesh Pandey) aka Papa of hackers. He is unwilling to do the job & keeps on procrastinating until he falls head over heels for Kamayani (Elli Avram) - his own Kung Fu Chameli, which leads to getting himself struck in the cyber trap with a well-programmed series of crimes and has only 14 hours to survive. It is then he is forced to operate his skills and what happens to his search for the gang, is a result of his talent (read Hacking).

The film's premise is so based in the cyberworld that the pace of the narration stands by every aspect of the plot alike any high-speed internet. You need not to blink your eyes until the next page loads. Even in the second half, the story doesn't get encrypted, where most Friday releases come under the scanner. The best part has been ctrl+S (read saved) for the second half, where the plot provides the spectators with evidently shocking twists & turns, which keeps them hooked till the very end. The climax is top-notch & will leave the spectators awestruck. The camaraderie between Chutney & Mickey alike Tom & Jerry, is a delight to watch. The dialogues, screenplay & direction (Saurabh Verma) is computer-esque and are vividly apt. Well done Mr. Verma for this debut venture.  DoP (Anshuman Mahalay) captures the mood of the director well & does a commendable job. Music (Agnel Roman, Faizan Hussain and Hanif Sheikh) does irritate the viewers at times. Pyar China Ka Maal Hai is the standout composition. The best of the words should be accosted for the casting director (Abhishek Banerjee), who casts a supremely hordes of actors, who compliment each & every scene of the movie. The idea is overall, inventive, which is a luminous treat to watch.

On the flip side, the first half should have less scenes of Mickey drooling all the way over the voluptuous Kamayani. The plot in this hour takes long to build up. That's it.

Manish Paul is an eminent figure in television world. He is the cutest television host ever and in his debut movie too, his comic timing, body language & mannerisms of geeky college brat deserves applause, who delivers his witty one liners just as one presses the Enter button while Programming. He is simply brilliant in giving his body & soul to the role. Long way to go for him. Elli Avram isn't that bad, though she doesn't know acting but this is her debut stint and she's limited to merely skin show in all those skinny clothes, be it formals, casuals et al. Her eyes speaks a lot, which aides to a lot of her expressions. Puja Gupta's dialect reflects her tomboy look rather well. She's is one such talent, who proves herself time & again. The other two pals of Mickey are quite impressive. Manish Choudhary & Nitesh Pandey are tailor-made for the role but it's only Varun Badola who gets his due with his brilliant act. His lines are indeed funny & the way he delivers them, make them even funnier. The movie is sure to win him as many accolades as it could.

On the whole, book your tickets pronto and enjoy this crisp & quirky bug. Get infected ASAP!

SHAHID 3.5 stars

In a career spanning 7 years, the noted & the most contested Indian lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi has 17 acquittals, most known for defending those wrongly accused in cases of terrorism. He was shot down in his Mumbai office by three incursionists in 2010. Director Hansal Mehta and writer Sameer Gautam Singh take the brave step and give a tribute to the manful, intrepid and resolute man he was, through the movie. The spectators of Hindi cinema today, relish varied genres and some stories are ought to be told by the medium of cinema. Hence, the movie is a mix of 95 per cent fact & 5 per cent fiction and the sole motive of the documentation is to enlighten the viewers with Shahid Azmi's journey, right from being arrested during the riots till his assassination, that should not only be parochial to merely a controversial news piece.

After Shahid's arrest during the 1992 Mumbai Riots, he goes to Pakistani Controlled Kashmir into a militant training camp, but comes back disillusioned. The police gets hold of him again under TADA, serving seven years in Delhi's Tihar Jail, on charges of plotting against the state, where he has been given Third Degree treatment & forced to remain naked throughout, though he was acquitted later. He starts studying while in jail under the influence of Professor Saxena (Yusuf Hussain) & Waar Saab (Kay Kay Menon), though he gets influenced somehow by radical person like Omar Sheikh (Prabal Panjabi) but he was so damn adamant on reading & frustrated by the injustice that he goes on to finding resolve & optimism through mentoring & support of his elder brother Arif (Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub) to become a criminal defense lawyer in Mumbai in 2003, defending cases for those accused for terrorism. Meanwhile, he comes across Mariyam (Prabhleen Sandhu), over a case of property dispute & gets hitched, after several meetings cum date over the matter of her lawsuit. He continues his fight against injustice & gets on to become the bone of contention and resultantly, gets slained in 2010 at the tender age of 32. Shahid's only aspiration are the sentences by lawyer Roy Black :
“By showing me injustice, he taught me to love justice. By teaching me what pain and humiliation were all about, he awakened my heart to mercy. Through these hardships I learned hard lessons…”

Hansal Mehta presents the film with ample drama in 129 minutes of runtime with spell-binding courtroom sequences. Every scene has some message hidden. The pace is jogtrot. In this tight budgeted movie, the cinematography -- overcrowded neighbourhoods, congested bylanes and filthy houses match each & every frame of the proceedings. The camaraderie between the brothers with their Ammi (Baljinder Kaur) is well presented. The editing is (Apurva Asrani) is slick. The romantic angle between the high voltage courtroom drama is soothing. Casting director ( Mukesh Chhabra) makes no mistake in his casting.

Though I have some reservations over the use of expletives, the unexplained track of Shahid's escape from training camp in Kashmir and the forced track of Kay Kay Menon.

Raj Kumar Yadav is exceptional in the portrayal of such a controversial lawyer. He is phenomenal. He carries forward the movie alone in his shoulders. Time and again he has proved himself & this time, he takes a giant leap as an incredible actor. He conveys bravity, vulnerability, bashfulness, victory and defeat with ferocious enthusiasm and how! After the show concludes, you'll take away his sincerity with you. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Baljinder Kaur and Prabhleen Sandhu deserves special mention. They are exceptional ubiquitously, especially Zeeshan, who's quainter & benign this time. Kay Kay Menon is almost there. Yusuf Hussain is competent as always. Tigmanshu Dhulia as Maqbool Menon, cast in brief but significant role, is wonderful. Vipin Sharma is a remarkable actor, no two doubts in that. Prabal Panjabi is effective in cameo. Mukesh Chhabra, who enacts the part of a witness, Shalini Vatsa as Prosecutor Tambe and Paritosh Sand as Judge are first-rate.

On the whole, Shahid is provocative, moving, gripping and thoughtful movie that has bravura performances to add to its credibility. It teaches us the moral that one needs to be always ready to fight against injustice irrespective of religions because the adage proves right as Shahid says that Marta Bhi Insaan Hai & Maarta Bhi Insaan Hai. Director Hansal Mehta has shown that real heroes are inside us, only we need to feel the feeling.

WAR CHHOD NA YAAR   3 stars


War comedies are no big affairs in the west, whereas in India, this genre has been completely unexplored yet. Gobsmacked! A satirical take on one of the most hostile regions of the world i.e. the Indo-Pak border, or to infuse humor in a movie that takes on the sentient issue of enmity between India and Pakistan, evidently requires courage. Moreover, there is always an element of risk associated with the genre that has not been introduced to the viewers of Hindi films. Amid masala films, writer & director Faraz Haidar comes up with the most innovative idea on the theme of war in the recent times that puts across a more acrimonious message of vacuity of wars through his commendable effort.

The story commences with the Defense Minister of India (Dalip Tahil) convening a noted journalist Rut Dutta (Soha Ali Khan) beseeching her to make a rattling report on the Indian army as the Indo-Pak war is to be declared in two days time and to live telecast the footage after two days when the war commences. As soon as Rut reaches the base camp of the Indian army, she witnesses warmth and friendly care between the armies of both sides more than animosity. They even play Antakshari to keep themselves entertained and busy as well. Rut keeps on asking Captain Rajveer Singh Rana (Sharman Joshi) whether he wants the war to happen, on which he replies in negative that he would rather treat them to chicken! However, the superfluous war sets off on the same night and as the war progresses further, the regnant sense of disenchantment about war grows in the armies. While Government orders and ghastly forces both try to foment the war, an exclusive coverage of the war by Rut reaches out to people as the truth of the battle.

The film’s script and its execution is absorbingly done. It is a simply told story that focuses on making the viewers laugh and how! A humorously knitted satire where soldiers from both ends of the border discuss about lunch and they sit across the Line of Control & play cards. The story holds immense significance on the futility of war continually. The film has genuine scenes which will have the spectators in split through the tongue-in-cheek dialogues. It will leave the viewers by a lingering impact as the film concludes. Faraz Haidar has a long way to go as a director. His direction is almost flawless. Cinematography, the landscape of Rajasthan, is showy.

On the flip side, the reason why the war begins isn’t clearly etched out. These sort of movies should have been a songless affair. Had the runtime been trimmed down to atleast 15-20 minutes, the impact would have been longlasting. Towards the penultimate moments, the film begins to get exhortative as the screenplay writer has no idea what to do with the film anymore but the ultimate moments only make up for it. Cinematography -- the landscape of Rajasthan -- is eye-catching, although the night shots get too pitch-dark on screen. The night shots get too stygian on screen.

No two words could describe the acting skills & comic timings of Sharman Joshi and Jaaved Jaafrey. They are indeed a delight to watch. Soha Ali Khan portrays her part credibly. Dalip Tahil gets to portray four different characters with utmost ease as if the role has been tailor-made for him. Sanjay Mishra as Commander Khan is fanatastic. He has got some of the genuinely funny lines to deliver and he's faultless. Time and again, he proves that he truly is a versatile actor. Manoj Pahwa as Pakistani General and Mukul Dev as Pathani intruder is competent.

On the whole, War Chhod Na Yaar is a welcome change that manages to evoke ecstatic delight with a friendly yet powerful message imbibed in it. Iss film ko *mat* chodna yaar.

BESHARAM    3 stars

A landslide victory in the name of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani has ascertained Ranbir Kapoor into the race of one-upmanship in Bollywood. Right from the script selection to proving his mantle onscreen & attracting viewers in hordes, forced the producers & directors to look at the emerging Prince cum competitor to the three Khans of Bollywood. Teaming up with Himanshu Mehra, Sanjeev Gupta, Reliance Entertainment and the real Dabangg offscreen, Abhinav Kashyap, the immediate outing Besharam is evidently crucial for Ranbir Kapoor, as this is his first tryst with an out-and-out masala film & going by the screen count (4187 screens worldwide), the movie would make or break the hype & hoopla surrounding Ranbir as the new Superstar of Bollywood.

It is a flat story of an orphan cum street smart car thief cum car mechanic, naam haiga Babli (Ranbir Kapoor), who lives life to the fullest without any guilt and finds familial love in the fellow orphans with Titoo (Amitosh Nagpal) as his only chum cum confidant. He even donates all his money to the orphanage for the upbringing of other orphans. He has neither any worries nor ambitions in life until he bumps into feisty Tara (Pallavi Sharda) in a party, falls for her immediately and his life takes a diametrical change when he ends up unknowingly stealing Tara's newly bought Mercedes, after failing to woo her despite multiple attempts. For the very first time, he starts feeling sorry for his deed and is hell bent on returning the car back to her lady love, which leads him back to the notorious Hawala king of Chandigarh Bheem Singh Chandel (Jaaved Jaafrey). With Senior Inspector Chulbul Chautala (Rishi Kapoor) & Head Constable Bulbul Chautala (Neetu Kapoor) and the flagrant Chandel hounding him, how Babli manages to escape the vacillating situation & turns his back to all his ill-doings, forms the crux of the story.

There ain't anything novel & innovative other than what was promised in the promos. It banks heavily on the stereotypical formula of Bollywood blockbusters. The screenplay is sloppy & fractured throughout and loses the consistency cum intrinsic beauty of the characters in the form of tedious plot. All the characters here come & go whimsically, while the story stays hooked on to the two main leads. Some of the scenes are stretched vaguely to infuse the toilet humor but some of them succeed, mainly in the second half & during the climax and the rests fall flat. To raise the bar of languid screenplay, there are songs coming out of nowhere every 15-20 minutes. The heroine snubs the hero but grooves with him the following moment. The clever writing in the form of Dabangg and the charisma of the Hero ala Robinhood Pandey have been overlooked legibly. Even the love angle should've sparked tremendous appeal in a breezy drama like this but unfortunately the writers have missed on to this too. The heroine is an absolute misfit for the suave Ranbir & is loud & screechy to the hilt and hence, their chemistry lacks fizz. The sole flattering scene is their charged conversation in the hotel room in Chandigarh. The overdose of matrix style action and the soundtrack too are outdated & disappointing. The dialogue "Naam Chulbul Rakh Lene Se Koi Dabangg Nahi Ban Jaata" proves to be a mirror.

The three Kapoors are the whole & soul of the movie. No words could describe the legacy of their acting skills. Right from the tongue-in-cheek dialogues to the unmatchable camaraderie between the Kapoors make the movie thoroughly enjoyable. The audiences would fall for the film's clap traps in bits. There is *not* anything new in the direction, on the same line as Dabangg, yet Abhinav Kashyap's trademark style is unconquerable. The locales & frenzy are captured adroitly. Ranbir Kapoor never falters & perfects whatever he's assigned to perform. Right from the corny lines he mouths in his own indomitable Robdaar style to the flashy clothes he wears, he's simply brilliant. It seems that he's in his comfort zone throughout. He would start a new trend of keeping the sunglasses. Watch out. Pallavi Sharda, as an individual heroine, makes a confident debut as grouchy, stern and demanding girl next door. Yes, there ain't anything vastly impressive about her yet she is adorable. It is a wonder how the supremely talented Rishi Kapoor slips in each & every character, he portrays, with such elan and the effortlessly mesmerizing Neetu Kapoor is astoundingly loud as a Haryanvi constable.  It's a delight watching the two with such compatibilty on screen. Jaaved Jaafrey sets alive the ferocious Chandel. He's not memorable though, for the kind of acting style he has. Amitosh Nagpal is competent.

On the whole, give this one a shot for drollness, the jhaamphaad climax and the Kapoor clan in attendance, as the USP, in a single frame but don't expect any enchanting fun. You won't be disappointed.

WARNING        2.5 stars

Touted as India’s first 3D underwater film & borrowed heavily from Open Water 2: Adrift, first time director, Gurmmeet Singh take audiences on a journey into the lives of 7 young friends, a Labrador Retriever and a baby (Sara). They catch up in Fiji after the protracted five years to celebrate the benign old times & the first birthday of Sara. They do not heed a warning amidst all the jollity and find themselves stranded neck deep in shark-infested ocean, unable to land themselves back on to their small yet lush yacht (Pied Piper). Then starts a bloody game in middle of the everlasting ocean. The lucky one dies first and the rest goes through the worst nightmares of their lives after venting out their frustration/anger, facing the unrequited love, popping out the secrets and lastly, churning out their patience for their survival, with no hope of rescue and miracles.

The movie is more of a survival story & has some inly nail-biting moments, more in the second half, to be precise. The astounding locales of Fiji, the cinematography (top notch), the camera angles, the hair-raising sound effects, the direction, the skin show, the acting in the first half, exhibitioning the fear and a few fantastic shots of 3D gimmickry truly builds up the momentum of the proceedings & keeps the spectators jaw-dropped and hooked till the end. The movie emits fresh vibes to viewers of Hindi films with a theme that's seldom explored here. The direction is simply brilliant. Gurmmeet Singh is flawless in the art of storytelling. The lingo is contemporary, to catch up with the target audience - Youngsters.

On the flip side, the movie is *not* a scarefest, which one expects from this kind of cinema. The narration should have been a songless affair. The escapades with the shark in the second half, should've evoked fear, with the use of 3D gimmickry, but unfortunately it doesn't. The slow pace of the movie has diluted the impact of tension/fear & hence, it should have been 15-20 minutes shorter. The culmination is hurried & abrupt as well, which leaves the viewers wanting for more. The editing is shaky & fails to give the desired lucid flow.

Madhurima Tuli & Suzana Rodrigues flaunt her beach body dauntlessly. It is only during the ultimate moments that the aquaphobic Manjari Fadnis surpasses all, both by flaunting her irritant body & showing her effectiveness through her acting skills. Varun Sharma is competent and has nothing striking to do, unlike his previous attempt Fukrey. With chiseled body and ravishing looks, Santosh Barmola [as Manjari's lover], Jitin Gulati [as Manjari's husband] & Sumit Suri are confident and effectual enough. They know how to emote well.

To sum up, the movie makes it clear from the very beginning what to expect further, as the reel unfurls but if you're brave enough to experiment, give this one a shot (with minimal expectations) for the execution of the idea, which has been done with panache & as never-seen-before happenings or else skip it.

PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO     2 stars

Beware what might seem a benign family drama, is a crap all the way!

Rajkumar Santoshi and Tips Music Films are synonymous with the critically acclaimed THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH and the commercially well-turned AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI. Concretely, the versatile director is known for his works like GHAYAL & DAMINI, which won him the coveted Filmfare Best Director Award. With ANDAZ APNA APNA, he turned the dice and had given a cult comedy to Indian cinema. He continued his winning streak with family comedy ala AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI. But he fell short of the expectations in his latest endeavour. He carries the hangover of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and directed a mindless comedy, which, in fact, is a spoof on the low IQ comedies churning out of Bollywood. One wonders if Santoshi has stuck to the same formula seeing this movie lacks surprise, soul & even a STORY to hold the zest of the audiences. Santoshi himself, is the dialogue cum screenplay writer of the movie. He might have run out of his mind this time.

Vishwas Rao (Shahid Kapoor) is a film buff since childhood, son of a single mother cum auto driver Savitri (Padmini Kolhapure) in a small town named Shirgaon, whose sole dream is to see her son grow up into an honest police officer. However, after dodging continuously the police selection exam, he comes to Jogi Bhai (Sanjay Mishra) in the city of dreams. After a photoshoot, he retains his khaki attire on the insistence of his photographer and gets mistaken by a social activist cum reporter Kajal (Ileana D'Cruz) as a police officer. Being an inherently righteous man, he saves the victims and manages to catch the attention of dons as his mavericks were resulting in their losses. Preparing for a giant mission called The White Elephant, the dons gear up to find the mischief maker. However, he is victimised only when his mother comes to Mumbai and gets to know that her son isn’t a cop but an actor. The story from then on moves to juggle between Vishwas’ personal life and how he gets stuck on with don Gundappa (Saurabh Shukla) and then the police (Zakir Hussain) for posing as an imposter. Does he manage to scrape through forms the proceedings & crux of the tale!

The only good thing is Shahid Kapoor. He slips in his role with great ease. Though, neither his acting nor his dance skills have been utilised to the fullest. He's capable of doing much more but ultimately restricted to overacting. He tries too hard to carry the burden of a soulless movie, particulary in scenes with the Director (Tinu Anand) and confronting his mother in the hospital but falls short of the expectations. He's simply brilliant in the aforesaid scenes. He somehow manages an impressionable portrayal through dance, comic timing and raw action (Kanal Kannan & Tinu Verma). Salman Khan scene stealing cameo will keep the audiences rolling with laughter. He's completely natural here.

The movie barely has a script. It is a messy hodgepodge of action, romance, humor & melodrama. Every time the action & songs come out of nowhere & they make no sense. The dialogues are plain ordinary. There are scenes of genuine laughs, provided by the brilliant Sanjay Mishra, but they are few & far between. The love angle is immature. The actors are only limited to over the top acting. Ileana is wasted & remains so plastic throughout the movie. All her scenes are unwanted. Padmini Kolhapure acts with aplomb. No words could compliment her acting. Mukesh Tiwari, Darshan Jariwala, Rana Jung Bahadur, Navin Prabhakar, Ishtiyaq, Vishwanath, Neeraj Vora, Shiva Natarajan, Mithilesh Chaturvedi, Pradeep Choudhary, Viju Khote, Deepak Pandit and Abhay Bhargava are wasted. Zakir Hussain, Saurabh Shukla and Sanjay Mishra are excellent. They are true to what they do best. The direction is ordinary. Pritam has done it again. His songs are already chartbusters but that merely couldn't save the movie.

To sum up, Phata Poster Nikla Hero is an insipid & dull affair. The spectators will be exhausted till the climax & will rip your senses apart. Skip this one for sure and opt for Santoshi's earlier works instead.

THE LUNCHBOX      4.5 stars

Warning: You will come out starving after watching so many culinary items.

Have you fallen in love with a person, whom you have never seen and yet you are teetotally excited for one such moment from your love, "almost everyday", which could change you? I bet, not once. The Lunchbox is one such tale. The complacent 'dabbawalas' in the hustling city of Mumbai feed scores of people everyday. They are known for their discernible and timely delivery of the dabbas. Then comes a day, when a lunchbox gets wrongly delivered, which trigers an invisible yet gaily romance between a hassled housewife ILA (Nimrat Kaur), who shuffles between her little daughter and negligent husband, who's having an extra-marital affair, and, a middle-aged widower Government officer Saajan Fernandez (Irrfan Khan). What follows are days of communication through letters. They are not unheard of e-mails & phones but the lunchbox, with a letter everday, brings alive the old-fashioned romance between the two. Saajan has no spices in his life and follows his char with such maturity & ease that the audiences could evidently relate to with typical government employees. He keeps on dodging the man, Sheikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), who is to replace him after his retirement and he is even rogue with children. As the conversations amplify, the topic switches from the basic food to that of their lives, letting them open up more about themselves. As the film strides, Ila rolls in a more confident woman. As for Saajan, who has given his 35 years to the job, transmutes from a melancholy employee to that of a man, whose life finds some color via the food. What happens to them thereon, forms the crux of the story.

The film has lasting sights of passing trains and messy government office & Ritesh Batra has done a magnificient job in showing the restlessness of the city entwined with the romance and not forgetting to provide some genuine laughs at regular intervals. Even the minutest details right from the settings to feelings of the three lead actors are taken extreme care of. Unlike typical Bollywood movies, the pace is gentle throughout the movie, which has its own merits in giving ample time for the spectators to adjust to the proceedings and in keeping the audiences engrossed. The director has not only chosen an unconventional plot but gets brownie points too in delivering a simple yet impactful portrayal of human feelings, besides the towering performances of the principal actors. Kudos to him.

On the flip side, the climax & the pace, though, may not appeal to the masses.

Irrfan Khan is the only KHAN who's not a SUPERSTAR but indeed a SUPER STAR. There's nothing he can't perform on. He's the soul of the movie & in true sense, TERRIFIC throughout. It's a delight to watch him again & again surpassing his own previous attempts. Right from his body language to the helplessness of a middle-aged man, he portrays, is simply fantastic. He never falters. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is completely in sync with his character. He is simply outstanding & flawless. He's both repulsive & endearing. No words could truly admire his screen timings and the camaraderie with Irrfan. Watch out for him when every time he comes from nowhere and greets Irrfan "KAISE HAIN SIR!!" and the scene when he invites Irrfan for his wedding. It would bring tears, merely because of his dialogue delivery. Nimrat Kaur is a surprise package. Standing tall in a movie which has Irrfan & Nawaz in the lead, is a daunting task & her performance needs to be lauded. She's the body of the movie. Nakul Vaid, Denzil Smith (as Mr. Shroff) and baby Yashvi Puneet Nagar (as Yashvi) are competent. Lillete Dubey is natural in the role of Ila’s mother. Bharti Achrekar’s voice adds spices. Not to forget, the foodstuffs would literally make your taste buds salivate.

On the whole, Ritesh Batra's meaningful take on love, life, committment & feelings needs to be lauded by the avid cinegoers. This bravura & honest attempt is sure not to be missed. A masterpiece & the most optimistic Bollywood movie been made, thus far.

GRAND MASTI     2.5 stars

Indra Kumar is synonymous with family movies that include Beta, Dil, Raja and Mann, to name a few. In 2004, he took a leap forward and came up with MASTI, based on the extra-marital affair, which instantly hit the right chord with the audiences and was a success. Now, in 2013, he has shattered all his inhibitions and came up with the so-called sequel, GRAND MASTI, which in other words, mark the return of the horny trio and this time they have left no stone unturned in giving the Indianised version of AMERICAN PIE.

Three desperate married guys ( Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh and Aftab Shivdasani) have uncontrollable libidos and so in a college reunion, they are looking to have some fun but it goes all wrong . Grand Masti is an onslaught on A, B and C of any female, to get F ( check out for the meaning and you will come out rolling with laughter).  Lewd jokes are aplenty this time. The first half has scenes which literally would bring the house down with laughter. Milap Zaveri dialogues are "gems", no two opinions on that. It evidently requires a highly creative mind to come up with such dialogues to provide collective giggles, which Indian audiences are not habituated to.

On the flip side, alike every single Bollywood movie, the second half tends to loose momentum and is a bit dragging. The jokes fall flat and the penultimate & ultimate moments are hurried. The movie has loads of derogatory comments on the women.  The soundtrack is another lowpoint. Some portions are unexplained. In the reunion, these three horny bastards meet no old friends, only three porn stars type girls, who have names as ROSE, MARY and MARLOW, which kept echoing throughout the movie as roz meri marlow & marlow meri roz.

Ideally, a film like this doesn't merit reviews but the dialogues and the guts to come out with INDEED the first most outrageous sex comedy of India, truly deserves a watch. Riteish Deshmukh has once again excel in the tailor-made role. Aftab Shivdasani marks a strong come back. He is phenomenal, especially when he pops up an idea everytime. Vivek Oberoi is competent. He is overshadowed by his co-stars. The girls are almost wasted. They are not really required to act. They are limited to the oomph factor merely. Pradeep Rawat is worthy. Suresh Menon does manage to provide some naughty jokes and then there is a Pussy too. Watch out for that.

On the whole, GRAND MASTI is, by far, the most turbulent adult humor to come out of Bollywood. If you want to laugh out your lungs on the naughty jokes and the inglorious visuals, then give this one a shot. You will relish the jokes and that's guaranteed.

SATYAGRAHA     3 stars

Satyagraha is a an altruistic political movie which traces the take on corruption through Amitabh Bachchan (Dwarka Anand, a Gandhian school teacher), Ajay Devgn (Manav Raghvendra, an ambitious, wily, businessman-turned Satyagrahi), Kareena Kappoor (Yasmin Ahmed, a journalist-turned Satyagrahi) and Arjun Rampal (Arjun, a student leader), with Manoj Bajpayi as Balram Singh, who is a growling, scheming and leery politician. Satyagraha rehashes facts & fiction to forge a well-intentioned movie. Dwarka Anand, Daduji to his followers, after the demise of his son in a mishap, slaps the district collector for not performing his job honestly, gets expeditiously thrown behind bars and sparks an aggravation that sends the politicians and policemen of Ambikapur gushing for cover. The ageing teacher’s fast-unto-death, undertaken on a raised platform and under a shamiana in the Ram Leela Maidan, is a laboured plot twist that becomes a verdant pretext for another round to expatiate.

Prakash Jha has executed quiter scenes and the scenes of large groups of people gearing up for the Satyagraha movement, with aplomb. These scenes stand out in the movie but are few and far between. Dialogues are thought-provoking and frenetic all through. Prakash Jha is a master of this genre. Speaking ONLY about his direction. to be honest, is impeccant.

Sustaining a politically virtuous stance, Prakash Jha has done a commendable job but for most part the script is fractured, frustrating and sinuous. Angry slogans rent the air and Facebook updates and tweets flash across the screen as a device meant to point out the disgruntlement of the people. The characters are without any real conviction. The romantic track between Ajay and Kareena is unexpected & unnecessary. The movie ends up with a messy hotch potch of too many issues and the ultimate moments look hurried and abrupt as well, which mar the overall endeavour of the flick, except the message mouthed by Ajay Devgn, which is OF the youth BY the youth and FOR the youth. The message mirrors today's scenario.

The movie's saving soul is Amitabh Bachchan. He is PHENOMENAL, no two doubts in that and the way he switches gears for this simplistic role, is evidently a compliment to his acting. Right from his dialogue delivery to the idealistic character he impersonates, is unmatchable and could well be termed as one of his finest performance in recent times. He voices the movie's philosophy - "Janta sarkaar ki maalik hai. Maalik nirdesh deta hai, Maang nahi karta." Watch out for him while touching the earth where his son died. Ajay Devgn underplays his part with aplomb and compliments Amitabh in each and every scene with great precision. He is fiery and on the same time, he is helpless, which shows he is a complete pro in taking care of the smallest of nuances, with his sincere & honest performance. Kareena Kapoor is effective in a not so challenging role of a journalist. Arjun Rampal & Amrita Rao are competent. They are overshadowed by the screen timing of other characters. Manoj Bajpai has mastered the villainous role after regularly playing under Jha. Indraneil Sengupta leaves a mark in a cameo. Mugdha Godse is wasted. Vipin Sharma is very good. Manoj Kolhatkar, Shireesh Sharma, Ajay Trehan and Girish Sahdev are effectual as well.

On the whole, Satyagraha is a weightless movie. The film lacks the much needed fizz, with an unconvincing climax, wasting the enigma of such talented bunch of actors. I am going with an extra star for the superstar of the Millenium. It is *not* terrible but is bearable for a one time watch only.

ONCE UPON AY TIME IN MUMBAAI DOBAARA!

3 stars

Milan Luthria is back with the second installment of Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. Expectations are riding high as the stakes increase in the sequel. The movie takes off from where the previous film ended with Shoaib Khan [Akshay Kumar] being the reigning don after killing Sultan Mirza.  Shoaib picks up a local Dongri reckless lad Aslam [Imran Khan] to build for himself a loyalist at crime, becoming his Godfather. Shoaib is the biggest gangster of Bombay who handles in all the way from presumably a Gulf country. His only confidantes are his best friend Javed [Sarfaraz Khan] and former lover Mumtaz [Sonali Bendre]. The quest to clench Rawal [Mahesh Manjrekar], a Prem Chopra fanatic, brings Shoaib to Bombay. Here, he impinges on a bold, beautiful & to some extent, rabid girl Jasmine [Sonakshi Sinha] & he throws his heart to her. She aspires to be an actress & Shoaib becomes the benefactor but without her knowledge, despite hanging out with him for days on end. What starts with a misinterpretation between Aslam & Jasmine, climbs up the ladder to love. What follows is the chase for love.

The prequel was a loud, thoroughly entertaining homage to the scripts of the ‘70s: high on drama, breezy with one-liners & packed with masala. The prequel worked because of the tight script which was crisply edited combined with powerhouse performances by Emraan Hashmi and Ajay Devgn. But here in the sequel, besides focusing on the game of one-upmanship between gangsters, the story  indeed results in the strife that initiates between Shoaib & Aslam – a war as to who will win the girl & the gangster moments take a backseat. If you are showing a past era, you need campy dialogues but that doesn't mean they have to be high-decibled delivery which makes it seem more theatrical than filmy. The dialogues [Rajat Aroraa] were the highpoints of the prequel but in the sequel, they seem to have aimed only to the single screen spectators, where every line is a punch line, sometimes flat though but towards the penultimate & ultimate moments, some of the most fiercing dialogues are being delivered by Akshay to match up his persona. Once again, director Milan Luthria impresses us with the set-up of the movie. Everything is so filmy just like how it used to be back then. The first half, which has plain dramatic moments with bit of everything, right from songs, humor & sleazy lines to some sensuous scenes as well. The grip is missing right from the outset. Only the conversation between Akshay & Imran, following the interval, is something to look forward to in a Once Upon...series. Brilliant lines. It is only the second half which packs a solid punch & which has the real drama which includes less songs & some virtually menacing scenes & dialogues, especially the confrontation involving Akshay & Sonakshi and the powerful sequence between Akshay & Sonali Bendre, towards the closing stage. MAI TO PYAR BHI PYAR SE NAHI KARTA HU. The styling is unflawed here. Terrific second half. Pritam’s music ain’t extraordinary and the editing could have been better. But it is the script, the direction and the acting that dooms it all for them!


Akshay's slick look as a dreaded gangster definitely gets points. He is vindictive in the climax. He is the one, who's vivacious charisma as the dreaded gangster gets the film brownie points. Imran Khan's chocolate boy good looks is difficult to be hidden behind a moustache, making him look like one of those kids from the Filpkart commercial and he is plain flat throughout. However, the chemistry between him and Sonakshi is better than Akshay's. Watch out for him in the penultimate & ultimate scenes only. He's excellent there. Sonakshi plays the gangster's moll in the film and looks almost similar to all her past films. She's loud also. There is only one solid scene that the director has given to actress Sonali Bendre and she's brilliant in it. The supporting cast is almost wasted, only Mahesh Manjrekar is competent though.

On the whole, this one's a damp squib that is the last thing expected from Luthria and Balaji because they have set the temperature soaring earlier in the prequel & The Dirty Picture. The only lifeline here is the powerful second half. It has some really awestruck gangster moments. It stands nowhere in comparison, which is inevitable, to the prequel. Watch it for Akshay only or better skip it & wait till it gets premiered on television.