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!