SAAHO

#FinalVerdict.. DEBACLE!

2 Stars

All that glitters is not gold! Director Sujeeth Reddy misses the golden opportunity. The costliest movie to come out of the premium production house UV Creations is, unfortunately & sadly, a king-sized disappointment!

Sujeeth Reddy's story is predictably formula-ridden. His direction is shoddy. Frankly, with such poor written material on hand, the director couldn't have salvaged the show either. Poor VFX, too many cinematic liberties & a lifeless second half play spoilsport.

Hussain Dalal-AbbasDalal's hindi dialogues are interesting but they are few & far between. 1 hour into Saaho and it's hard to believe it was put together by grown men. It's hard to sit through as there is no connect of the audience with the characters & story.

However, director Sujeeth Reddy does manage to make an impact in a few sequences - Prabhas’s intro fight, gun fight in a dance sequence, car chase scenes in Dubai, Jetman sequence, pre-climax & climax. But overall, Saaho lacks the power of strong content.

Sreekar Prasad's editing - PATHETIC! Saaho does not flow at all & looks as if it was patched up together in a hurry.
Madhie's cinematography/wide camera angles - FANTASTIC! Double thumbs up!
Ghibran's background score enhances the impact. AMAZEBALLS!

Sabu Cyril's extravagant production design is top notch.
Kenny Bates, Peng Zhang, Dhilip Subbarayan, Stunt Silva, Stefan Richter, Bob Brown & Ram-Lakshman's fights, thrills, chases & stunts are pulsating & trendily implemented. Merit an enthusiastic round of applause!

Prabhas plays to the gallery but is letdown by the writing. Saaho rests on his brawny shoulders. Shraddha Kapoor looks ethereal. She's sure to astonish the viewer with her dexterous act no end. Chunky Panday stands out among the many villains. Iniquitous!

Arun Vijay is a dynamic actor. He delivers a spirited performance.
Neil Nitin Mukesh played it to perfection. He's so with the character.
Jackie Shroff, Mandira Bedi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vennela Kishore, Evelyn Sharma, Murli Sharma & Lal get no scope. WASTED!

To sum up, Saaho is body beautiful, minus soul. Once the initial euphoria settles down, it'll be difficult for the film to sustain. This one's a golden opportunity lost, an EPIC DISAPPOINTMENT! Flawed writing takes the film downhill. 3 hours of complete drivel!

The Angry Birds Movie 2

#FinalVerdict: Fluffy!

3 Stars

Red, Zeta & Silver will leave you with quite a few chuckles without trying to be preachy. Kudos to the first time Director Thurop Van Orman & co-director John Rice for making a hilariously superior sequel!

Right from the tone, style & humour, everything is A1! The editing by Kent Beyda and Ally Garrett is sharp. With impressive visuals & 3D, there are some excellent visual gags, slapstick humour & a sub-plot with three adorable hatchlings.

On the flip side, the tonality of the film remains silly throughout. Also, the parallel track of the hatchlings never really develops into anything meaningful and there are other unwanted plots which make The Angry Birds Movie 2 fluffy & asinine.

All said & done, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is crammed with valuable life lessons tucked away discreetly. But what’s truly admirable is the absence of cynicism. It's all heart, funny and emotional; there’ll be laughs, and a lump in your throat!

EVARU (Telugu)

4 Stars.


#FinalVerdict.. Edge Of The Seat!

Venkat Ramji & Abburi Ravi leap notches above & take the story to a heightened level. The sequence of events that lead to the culmination are truly nail-biting. Has ample scenes to leave you startled & dazed. While the screenplay gives you no time to ponder since it unravels at a feverish pace, the assorted characters and their tracks keep you on tenterhooks throughout. You just can't guess what's up in store next.

Adivi Sesh, Regina Cassandra & Naveen Naveen Chandra vie for top honors. Adivi Sesh delivers a spirited performance. He's so with the character. Naveen Naveen Chandra is a dynamic actor - proved time and again. Evaru is sure to make people sit up and notice this wonderful talent.

Regina Cassandra takes the boldness quotient to the next level. She should grab a lot of eyeballs for a full-length role of substance after a long time. She is steely, vulnerable and scheming all at once. Murli Sharma enacts his part with a lot of confidence.

Nihal Kodhaty is a talent to watch out for. First-rate, no stopping this guy!

Patchipulusu Vamsi's cinematography is top notch. He captures the mood of a thriller with finesse.

Sricharan Pakala's score elevates thrilling moments to an extraordinary altitude altogether.

Garry Bh's razor-sharp editing also merit an enthusiastic round of applause, taking the suspense angle to a new altitude altogether.

All said & done, Evaru stands on its feet for the reason that it will astound, astonish and leave you with an exclamation, ‘Wow!’.

MISSION MANGAL

4 stars

Overwhelmingly Patriotic!

#FinalVerdict

Mission Mangal is sure to win accolades, acclaim, awards and box-office rewards! Jagan Shakti hits a boundary in his very first #Hindi attempt. An outstanding story narrated with ferocious enthusiasm!

Mission Mangal may be a fictionalized account of true events but Jagan Shakti's story ensures it does not transform into a documentary that focuses completely and absolutely on the incidents. The director makes sure that it not only enlightens but entertains as well. Bravo!

While the enthralling drama catches your attention, the execution of the written material, besides proficient performances from each and every member of the cast, makes Mission Mangal a game changer. Many might not be aware of this case, hence, the novelty factor is also there.

R. Balki, Nidhi Singh Dharma(first movie as writer), Jagan Shakti & Saketh Kondiparthi's screenplay blend science & entertainment effortlessly and their dialogues are sure to bring the house down. However, there’s no doubt that some scenes are exceptionally scripted. Double thumbs up!

Mission Mangal's layered script - a central Mangalyaan theme topped with the second layer of women empowerment/characters' personal issues and the icing on the cake is nationalism running throughout with humour - shows Jagan Shakti's level of maturity in his very first endeavour.

Akshay Kumar does complete justice to his character. Once the narrative seizes your attention, he brings alive his character and you don't draw parallels subsequently with any other role. Vidya Balan is splendid, especially in the first half, & shows effortless acting prowess! You cannot take your eyes off Sonakshi Sinha. She gets to deliver a knockout performance. Taapsee Pannu utilises to the maximum the screen time that is offered to her. Watch out for her in the penultimate scenes. Harihar Gundurao Dattatreya aka Dattanna is delightfully brilliant. Kirti Kulhari again delivers a rock solid/relatable performance. Sharman Joshi is outstanding from start to end. The length of Nithya Menen's role may not be much but she registers a strong impact nonetheless. Dalip Tahil's mannerisms and dialogue delivery are exemplary. Sanjay Kapoor is the surprise package of the film. Post interval his transformation would be greeted with claps & whistles. Purab Kohli and Md Zeeshan Ayyub help tremendously in the progress of the film.

AmitTrivedi's music/background score elevates the mood of the film. Ravi Varman has done a magnificent job with the camera and captures the essence of Mission Mangal with flourish. Chandan Arora's editing is razor-sharp at most times, but could’ve been spruced up during some portions. The VFX by Famulus Media and Entertainment is top notch.

Mission Mangal easily ranks amongst Fox Star Hindi, Hope Productions & Cape Of Good Films finest films. Do yourself & your family a favour: Watch Mission Mangal. It's emotional, entertaining, enlightening and it makes you want to stand and applaud in the theatre towards the end!

BATLA HOUSE

4 Stars.

Straight From The Shoulder!

#FinalVerdict

John Abraham’s terrific performance, Ritesh Shah's seeti-maar one-liners, well researched & stem-winding story and Nikkhil Advani’s superlative direction provide crowd pleasing entertainment to the core!

Right from his fight against terrorism/politics/media to emoting a fit of pique by fighting the trial both within and outside the court, John Abraham’s Sanjeev Kumar Yadav is unequivocally his career best performance. Also, the Rashomon Effect highlights the impact even more!

Mrunal Thakur's Nandita is amazeballs, particularly in the second half, when she gets to prove her acting prowess again! Ravi Kishann's KK is applaudable. Manish Choudhary as Police Commissioner Jaivir is a man of the first water. Rajesh Sharma is coruscating as the defense lawyer.

Kranti Jha, Alok Pandey & Sahidur Rahaman have played their respective parts with earnest and confidently portrayed the requisite vulnerability. Watch out for Nora Fatehi in a scene with John Abraham where they have a long discussion! She did complete justice to her role!

Amruta Sant is perfect. Sonam Arora gave a copybook shot. John Stewart Eduri's background score uplifts the overall mood of the film. Kudos to Soumik Mukherjee’s topnotch cinematography for realistically rendering the taut chase scenes! Maahir Zaveri's editing is razor sharp & stylish??

On the flip side, songs aren’t quite memorable. No explanation for the straining of relationship between the lead pair. Lacks a solid political statement & the encounter scenes are bit confusing. Some scenes are tad repetitive and baffling.

Batla House has the unmistakable stamp of deft direction. Nikkhil Advani tackled the knotty issue by staying close to the authenticity with extreme concern and caution. The penultimate and ultimate moments are the mainstay of the enterprise - exhilarating and clap worthy. ????

The Nizampur episode, the brilliantly shot interrogation scenes, the courtroom sequences, scenes where John Abraham's character is quoting from the Holy Quran while interrogating Tufail, the intermission point and the climax are bound to be greeted with claps and whistles.

On the whole, Batla House is taut, transfixing and spellbinding, with an astounding finale. This truly is a new age patriotic film, one without the baggage of jingoism. Looks like John Abraham & Nikkhil Advani have hit the bull's eye. Strongly recommended!

Jabariya Jodi

#FinalVerdict...Hilariously Enjoyable!

3 stars....

Balaji Motion Pictures has a winner on hands, yet again! Although it rides on Bollywood cliches but provides plenty of laugh and thus, entertains big time with top notch acts (Siddharth Malhotra & Parineeti Chopra).

The best part about Jabariya Jodi is that it succeeds in bringing the house down. Sanjeev K Jha's screenplay, who also hails from Bihar, entwines both humour and emotions in a subtly efficacious way with Raaj Shaandilyaa's side-splitting dialogues provide non-stop laughter and non-stop entertainment. Kudos!

Brilliant is the word for the additional screenplay & dialogues by Neeraj Singh. For the comical & emotional scenes, the massy dialogues compliment the mood very well. For a debutant director, Prashant Singh, to keep the audiences hooked from start to finish is Estimable! WOW!

Vishal Sinha's cinematography (Perfect), Dev Rao Jadhav's editing (Crisp), Rajat Poddar's production design (Realistically beautiful), Joel Crasto's background score (Dramatic) and Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra & Sachet-Parampara's music uplift the theme and mood of the film.

Chandan Roy Sanyal and Aparshakti Khurana don't give you an impression that they're acting and stand shoulder to shoulder with the lead actors. Virtuoso! Sanjay Mishra is a respected gem of an actor! Jaaved Jaaferi looks macho. Fantastic! Mohit Baghel is quite funny and steals the show.

Siddharth Malhotra suits the part perfectly. He's the soul of Jabariya Jodi. His Abhay looks totally convincing. Parineeti Chopra's Babli is tailor-made for her and she shines throughout with amazing confidence. Neeraj Sood, Sheeba Chadha & Gopal Dutt deserved more screen time.

To sum up, Jabariya Jodi is a laugh-riot & an entertainer all the way, targeted at the hardcore masses. What really works for the film is its massive star cast and also the skilled performances by each and every member. Go watch it!

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Final Verdict...

Terrifyingly mediocre! Rating: 2 stars

This movie won't satisfy hardcore horror hounds. The script has major issues with predictable mystery, cursory plotting and mediocre character developments.

The movie doesn’t play like a standalone story and only if you're 14 years old, you might get frightened but you'll most likely forget the impact as soon as the end credits roll. It’s 'Nightmare on Elm Street' meets 'Stranger Things' but those were not meh!

It is not absurdly bad, it's really scary sporadically but the chills are few and far between. Terrible CGI also add to the woes. 'The Jangly Man' segment has the right balance between visceral horror and psychological fear but overall it lacks impact.

If Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark had been a collection of short tales simply, it would have scared the daylights out of the audience but on the contrary, the film is nondescript and cliche ridden. Even the characters & their chemistry are one-dimensional and flat. Skip it!

Nerkonda Paarvai

#FinalVerdict…Rating: 4 stars

Impeccably Powerful!

A perfect tribute by husband/producer Boney Kapoor to late Sridevi ji! Take a bow, writer/director H. Vinoth, for a Barnstorming, Shocking and Outstanding remake of very successful & talked-about Pink!

NerKonda Paarvai guarantees repeat views for sure! Now people will definitely change their mindset over independent women in society. H. Vinoth keeps the scenes tight and tense through his terrific screenplay and Yuvan Shankar Raja's music acts as sledgehammer, uplifting the mood. WOW!

That pre interval scene elevates the movie to a different level!! NerKonda Paarvai's entire courtroom drama feels too good to be true, and soberingly enough, it is. The entire film is really hard to shake off because all the detailing appears free of gimmickry. Amazing!

The movie is yet another sparkling performance in Ajith Kumar's illustrious career. The 'mass sequence' & the 'bike sequence' are in typical Tamil cinema style but the theatres will erupt in whistles and cheers. His mass image is very well justified and done in style.

The portions featuring Vidya Balan seem forced and don't quite add depth to the story but the pairing is delightful. The dialogues are candidly sharp and convey a message by toning the preachiness down. Nirav Shah's stabilized cinematography is another highlight. Brilliant!

Shraddha Srinath excels in a brave role and all her meaty scenes are praiseworthy and how! Andrea Tariang, who was also part of the original, is perfect again. Although her lack of experience is visible on the screen but overall newcomer Abhirami Venkatachalam pulls off a superb job. Arjun Chidambaram (Excellent), Adhik Ravichandran (Perfect), Aswin Rao (Commendable) and Rangaraj Pandey (Tailor-made role).

On the whole, NerKonda Paarvai is set to score another big victory at the box office. DON'T MISS IT!

Khandaani Shafakhana

3 Stars

#FinalVerdict: APPLAUDABLE!

Directed by debutant filmmaker Shilpi Das Gupta, Khandaani Shafakhana is APPLAUDABLE for tackling the social taboo surrounding sex and fertility issues without resorting to cheap humour and double meaning jokes. Brave Attempt!

PROS: Super premise.Sparkling performances.

Sonakshi Sinha [Extraordinary], Varun Sharma [Brilliant], Annu Kapoor [Top-notch], Badshah [Confident], Priyansh Jora [Solid], Nadira Babbar [Perfect] and Kulbhushan Kharbanda [Convincing].

Several LOL moments.The setting of a small town in Punjab with a dusty old clinic, the busy side lanes of a grand bazaar and middle-class Indian household filled with endearing but meddling family members add to the overall impact.

CONS: Length and excruciatingly slow pace play spoilsport…Some vital scenes fall flat, seem monotonous and forced. The romantic angle too, seem unnecessary. Also, the emotional scenes slacken the pace and at times, feel didactic.

On the whole, Khandaani Shafakhana is bold and makes a strong case by putting out its message in a light-hearted sapid manner. Go for it!

Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw

3 Stars

#FinalVerdict: THRILLING

This spin-off has enough humour, surprise cameos, jaw-dropping/logic-defying car chases & expeditiously choreographed, action sequences along with a wondrous finale.

Pros: Technically, the film is perfectly mounted with finesse. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are absolutely charismatic, seem to be walking through their roles with their appreciably strong on-screen chemistry. Idris Elba is despicable to the core. Fiendish! Vanessa Kirby is exceptionally astounding and she even gave Dwayne Johnson run for his money in one of the lavishly shot action sequences. Helen Mirren and Eiza Gonzalez are impressive in their respective cameos. Eddie Marsan as Andreiko is offhand.

After John Wick, Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, stunt coordinator-turned-director David M Leitch again proves adept in shooting close-quarters combat. Fantastic direction! Don't miss the post-credit scene.

Cons: It's big and dumb at the same time. Sadly, the story is the weakest link. The family angle is underdeveloped, making the sub-plots appear half-baked with no real emotional stakes. Also the runtime of two hours and sixteen minutes act as deterrent.

BABA (Marathi)

4 stars

 

#FinalVerdict: Rollercoaster of Emotions!

This Sanjay Dutt's maiden production is heart touching and a must watch. Raj R Gupta makes a brilliant debut as the captain of the ship. Kudos to him for exploring the father-child angle with perfection! The USP of Baba is its actors and with such strong/moving screenplay, every single emotion portrayed in the film will involve the viewers unknowingly/automatically. Baba doesn’t have many dialogues but still, at times, you will have to fight back the tears. W-O-W!

Deepak Dobriyal, the lifeline of this enterprise, justifies the title so brilliantly that his portrayal of the helpless father will touch your soul and stay within. Hats Off!

Double thumbs up for Nandita Patkar. Watch out for her scenes with Spruha Joshi towards the end. Amazing portrayal!

Abhijeet Khandkekar [Fantastic], Aryan Menghji [Splendid],

Spruha Joshi [Perfect] and Chittaranjan Giri [Excellent].

Arjun Sorte's cinematography is another highlight of this enterprise along with Manish Singh's emotionally balanced story/screenplay and rohan-rohan's uplifting score.

On the whole, Baba will stay with you long after the movie culminates. A cinematic beauty! Don't miss this for anything!