Friday 22 August 2014

कटियाबाज़: ड्रामा, एक्शन, इमोशन…सब असली है! [3.5/5]

कहानियाँ जो ज़िंदगी की सच्चाई से निकली हों, काल्पनिक कथाओं से कहीं बेहतर, कहीं रोचक होती हैं. रत्ती भर का बनावटीपन नहीं और कहीं भी पकड़ छूटने या बनाये रखने का दबाव नहीं. बस छोड़ दीजिये अपने आप को और बहते रहिये एक ऐसे बहाव में, जिस से आप अछूते नहीं हैं. जिसकी रवानगी कहीं कहीं आपके ज़ेहन में कैद है, ज़िंदा है. हालांकि 'कटियाबाज़' कानपुर से ताल्लुक रखती एक डाक्यूमेंटरी ड्रामा है, पर ऐसा नहीं है कि आप बड़े शहरों में रहते हों और इस तरह के हालात से बिलकुल ही परिचित हों.

कानपुर, जो कभी 'भारत का मैनचेस्टर' कहा जाता था, आज बिजली कटौती की भयंकर समस्या से जूझ रहा है. गर्मियों में 45 डिग्री तक पारा पहुँचने वाले इस शहर में 16-18 घंटे तक की बिजली कटौती होती है और व्यवस्था की इस नाकामी से लोगों को जो थोड़ी बहुत राहत मिलती है, उसका सर्वेसर्वा है, कटियाबाज़ी का उस्ताद लोहा सिंह! कटियाबाज़ यानि गैर कानूनी तरीके से बिजली की चोरी के लिए तार जोड़ने का हुनर जानने वाला! लोहा सिंह को मौत छू भी नहीं सकती (उसका मानना है कि तार जोड़ते वक़्त वह अपनी साँसे रोक लेता है और इसीलिए मौत उसे पहले से ही मरा जान कर छोड़ जाती है), लोहा सिंह को व्यवस्था से भी कोई डर नहीं! लोहा सिंह एक ठिगना सा आम आदमी ही क्यों हो, आप को उसमें बॉलीवुड के तक़रीबन-तकरीबन सारे एंटी-हीरोज़ की झलक देखने को मिल जायेगी। तो अगर लोहा सिंह फिल्म का एंटी-हीरो है, हीरो कौन है? कानपुर बिजली सप्लाई कंपनी की नयी मैनेजिंग डायरेक्टर रितु माहेश्वरी बिजली चोरी रोकने में कोई कसर छोड़ना नहीं चाहती। कानपुर जैसे शहर में, और कानपुर ही क्यों? ऐसे हर शहर में जहां लोग जरूरत की सारी सुविधाएं मुफ्त में लेने को मरे जाते हों, ये नामुकिन सा ही लगता है.

फ़हाद मुस्तफ़ा और दीप्ति कक्कड़ की 'कटियाबाज़' उन चंद डॉक्यूमेंटरी फिल्मों में से है, जिनमें मनोरंजन और ड्रामा की भरपूर गुंजाइश है. सच्ची घटनाओं को एक सुगढ़ नाटकीय तरीके से पेश करने की उम्दा कोशिश! प्रसिद्द म्यूज़िक बैंड 'इण्डियन ओसीन' का गंवई अंदाज़ और उस पर वरुण ग्रोवर के ठेठ गीत एकदम सटीक बैठते हैं, फिल्म के कथानक और उसके मूड के हिसाब से. फिल्म में ऐसे मजेदार दृश्यों की भरमार है जो आपको शायद ही किसी बॉलीवुड फिल्म में देखने को मिलें, मसलन बिजली चोरी रोकने के लिए बनाया गया स्क्वाड जो कटिया के तारों को बाकायदा सबूत की तरह सँभालते दिखते हैं. पर 'कटियाबाज़' को एक बेहतर फिल्म बनाती है उसकी संवेदनशीलता, एक तगड़ी पकड़ उन इमोशंस पर जो शायद हम देखना भी नहीं चाहते! एक दबंग नेता के चलते जब रितु माहेश्वरी का तबादला हो जाता है और लोग उनके विदाई समारोह में उनकी प्रशंसा के गीत गा रहे होते हैं, गुलदस्तों के ढेर के बीच बैठी एक नेक नीयत आईएएस अफसर के अंदर का खालीपन आपको अंदर तक कचोट जाता है. ऐसा ही कुछ फिल्म के अंत में देखने को मिलता है, जब शराब के देसी ठेके पर लोहा सिंह को उसकी कटियाबाज़ी के काम के लिए दुत्कार मिलती है. फिल्म के ये दोनों किरदार कभी आपस में मिलते नहीं, पर एक-दूसरे से जाने-अनजाने काफी कुछ बांटते हैं.

'कटियाबाज़' 85 मिनट की सिर्फ एक फिल्म नहीं है, 'कटियाबाज़' हम सबकी ज़िंदगी का एक हिस्सा है जहां ड्रामा, एक्शन, इमोशन सब असल का है. अगर आपको लगता है डॉक्यूमेंटरी सिर्फ कुछ चुनिंदा, बहुत ही संजीदा किस्म के लोगों के लिए ही बनती और बनायीं जाती हैं, आप 'कटियाबाज़' ज़रूर देखें। ये आपकी अपनी फिल्म है और आप ही के लिए बनाई गयी है! [3.5/5] 

MARDAANI: In all those hopeless commercial biggies, a small promise of change! [2.5/5]

Pradeep Sarkar’s MARDAANI is a small small film. Small neither because of its crispy, edgy & cross 114 minutes of total duration nor because it lacks a male superstar must for the most. Could be a disappointment because of the fact that it comes from one of the biggest film production houses in Bollywood! Well, it is small by and large because it did have the opportunity of going miles with an uncompromising burning issue in hand but sadly doesn’t take the required flight and succumb to being a hardcore commercial film. Still, better! Much much better than those nonsensical comedies, meaningless action entertainers and male-dominant plots. Credit goes to the earnest performance by Rani Mukerji and the issue based plot craving for immediate attention from allover.

Child sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal, inhuman & heartless criminal practice on every corners of the globe. And India is apparently the biggest hub for abducting and pushing victims of 12 years & more into the darkest pit of crime known as sex slavery. MARDAANI is all about one fearless cop trying to bust one such syndicate all alone with best of efforts, toughest of anger and strongest of determination. Shivani Shivaji Roy [played by Rani Mukerji] is a street smart tough cop who can mouth foul words without having any agitation or discomfort especially when on duty and also doesn’t mind cooking for her family even if in uniform. She is the new hero in Bollywood who is ready all the time to fight back the bad & the ugly, even in her sleep.

Problem with MARDAANI is that it never takes itself rightly. Where it could actually take the leap, it decides to lie back and get easy with the comforts of a commercial cinema. For instance, how could a missing girl’s information not alarm our sincere cop about the possibility of her being a victim of human trafficking? And where is the gravity of the issue if it requires a personal angle to charge up our main protagonist? Thankfully, the film doesn’t bother to feed you pointless added details like the back-story of main lead, dramatic outbursts in her professional life, emotional quotients responsible to shape up her stature the way she is today and so many others. Even cinematically, you will not find anything too multifaceted. It’s simple, straightforward and very much existent. So, do not expect a cat & mouse chase with high octane action sequences. Though the climax is quite unimaginative and a little dramatic!

Performances are subtle and restrained enough to give you a realistic feel. Rani as Shivani is in form. From her first in RAJA KI AAYEGI BAARAAT to this, her acts of resentment, resistance & revolt have always been appreciated. She can be fragile at one time and ferocious at the very next. Here too, she sets the screen on fire. Her character definitely deserves another chance with better hand at script and plot. Shivani Shivaji Rao could be a serious contest to all the SINGHAMs & DABANGGs! Tahir Raj Bhasin as the cool, calm & composed mastermind of the trafficking syndicate impresses with his ease with acting for camera. Veteran actress Mona Ambegaonkar surprises or rather shocks you in her excitingly vivacious yet vindictive shade of character. Why on earth we don’t see her more often on big screen?

Overall, it is a film that deserved better and more evolved hand at direction; the plot & the writing sure had it in glances & glimpses. Watch it for an unexpected change it promises to bring to Hindi commercial cinema but don’t anticipate whatever you have been praising till the very last entry in the 100 Cr club. It’s better; in content and in intend both! [2.5/5]  

Friday 15 August 2014

SINGHAM RETURNS: A pair of earplugs could save a lot for you! Rest is all wasted! [2/5]

The consequences of a film joining the over-hyped ‘100 Cr’ club could be many but one you don’t really want to face in most cases, is its inescapable and obvious sequel. Rohit Shetty’s SINGHAM RETURNS is one of those. As a fellow cop in the team makes it loud and clear soon after hero’s grand entry on screen, “Gaanv se shaher badla hai par apne Bajirao Singham ke kaam karne ka tareeka ab bhi wahi hai”! Translation could read, “Only the locations have been changed and the settings, Singham is all the same”. Spot on! SINGHAM RETURNS is a mindless action entertainer that tickles your heart less and hammers on your head more. I hope it hints you enough to carry earplugs and a couple of pills, in case of severe headache!

The new playground for Bajirao Singham [Ajay Devgn back in his vest & khaki avatar] is the city of Mumbai where corrupt politicians force their own set of rules to rule. An Anna Hazare in disguise idealistic Guruji [Anupam Kher in an extended guest appearance] is unwavering about cleaning the filth called corruption and black money from politics but the evil forces including barely a sketchy politician [Zakir Hussain in his probably most attempted character on screen] and a phony holyman who immediately gets into his cool casuals with a glass of beer in hands when not in some public appearances, have their own vicious plans. Singham returns to fight for freedom, justice and enforcement of law in the system, against these mean minds.

Rohit Shetty’s SINGHAM RETURNS clearly shows his over-confidence in the most usual and sub-standard plot. An honest cop’s frustration and distress while on duty leads him to be transformed into a fearless fighter who can also go beyond law to teach lawbreakers a hard lesson. So far so good! So far some respite! But when you see Ajay devgn mouthing dialogues like, “dhoom machaani hai machao, par bike ki gati [speed] par nahin, desh ki pragati [progress] par”, you sure can guess where it’s going. And SINGHAM RETURNS does that often. Where the first half is quite alike any regular episode of the longest running cop-drama CID on TV [You can also find the loveably single-minded Daya here to act on his favorite, “Daya, Darwaja tod do!”, second half is more of Shetty-special shootouts, blasts and ceaseless gravity-defying goon-bashing sequences.     

The other part that doesn’t go well with the film is the love-track! Kareena Kapoor plays Avni who besides dreaming to own a franchise of salon, can be seen frenzied over the idea of her marriage to Singham. It is the least appreciated thing if you have especially come out to see a Rohit Shetty Action entertainer. On the performances, Ajay does what people love to see him doing. A macho man who is invincible, intrepid and heroic in every sense! Kareena irritates, well mostly! Amole Gupte slips into the skin of Chandraswamy like Guru of political influences well and succeeds in providing some not sufficient but good laughs.

At the end, a strict warning for parents! If the child artist’s ‘mala raga gheto hai’ act in Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Aati majhi satakali’ song looks cute to you and your kid, it doesn’t necessarily mean the film is for kids! Stop taking your kids in each and every film you go for! It is like in between those blasting-flying-on fire SUVs in the film, you see a trapped Tata Nano being driven by Ajay Devgn and you go into serious prayers, “No, not this! Don’t! You can’t!” Watch it only if you’re one of those unfortunates who are still at home on this extended weekend! Rest, do not bother! [2/5]

Friday 8 August 2014

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Humorously heart-warming Superhero Film! MARVEL-ous! [4/5]

Confidence is the outfit superheroes sport full of grace. Superheroes act smart and in a much designed manner. Superheroes don’t really have a plan B because they don’t really need. Superheroes master in channelizing their angst against the rival forces. Superheroes have it in them and it shows. But the people we are talking about here, them ain’t superheroes. Not even close. They are just a bunch of losers. The definition can be wisely lightened to ‘the ones who have lost something or the other in life’; in case you really want to make them feel less humiliated. Still, they are the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY…and as a film; this is no less than any superhero movie at any level.

In a deserted planet; named Morag if you are really bothered, Peter Quill [played by Chris Pratt] is a space outlaw with a self-proclaimed arty name StarLord. In order to make his name in the business, he gets into the theft of a mysterious orb from evil forces, a serious threat to the existence of the galaxy. Proceedings in the plot lead him to a prison where he bonds with an alien-girl Gamora [Zoe Saldana], the huge-heartless and mechanical Drax the Destroyer, an ill-mouthed aggressively violent but hilarious raccoon Rocket [Bradley Cooper lends his voice] and my personal favorite, a walking tree who talks only as much as ‘I am Groot’ [the heavy gritty voice of Vin Diesel]. Now, together they need to emerge as the guardians of the galaxy but looking at each one’s flaws, aren’t we asking for too much?

Based on Marvel Comics’s lesser known characters, James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a pleasant surprise disguised as a superhero film. The similarity and likeness in the settings and visuals don’t go out of sight but the soul and the inner spirit of the film take a sharp turn at being not just a heart-thumping, nerve-wrecking and extensively jam-packed with heavy visual effects but a humorously heartwarming film that constantly & effortlessly lets you stretch your facial muscles.

Quill’s fascination with 80’s pop songs on his Sony walkman fills a hypnotic background score in the numinous outer space. His mentions of Kavin Bacon and his pelvic move in FOOTLOOSE, Drax’s one-track mind full of vengeance and nothing else in the planet, Rocket’s sarcastically grave attitude and Groot-the talking tree’s all time verbal communication restricted to just ‘I am Groot’ are some of the highlights that will leave you in splits. The slow-motion shots of heroic appearances by Rocket and the no-gravity space acts are incredible.

Overall, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a superhero film that stands out from the rest because of its feeble, flimsy yet charmingly colorful characters true to their hearts. They may not look a perfect team. They may unapologetically show off their flaws but together, they give you a MARVEL-ous time to be experienced on the big screen. Go for it! [4/5] 

ENTERTAINMENT: A new low in entertainment! Lackluster comedy of absurdity!! [1.5/5]

Do not judge a book by its cover and a film by its title, especially if it stars Akshay Kumar. Writer duo Sajid-Farhad’s first outing in direction ENTERTAINMENT sees a new low in the promised territory. With humor largely based on word-play one liners, plot that hardly believes in being logical and performances having tough time to justify even calling them one; it is just another slap-stick, mindless & lackluster comedy of absurdity Akshay Kumar is known to be a master of in recent past. Of course, a lovely addition of a cute dog in the plot is something new & unusual from his rests but that’s it.

Sounding like a film funded and supported by Maneka Gandhi- the famous animal rights activist, ENTERTAINMENT sets a new benchmark in bromance with Akshay Kumar bonding with a rich & wealthy dog smart enough to read books and acts accordingly to defend itself. In a very much Bollywood fashion, Akhil Lokhande [Played by Khiladi Kumar] comes to know of his real father being a Diamond King in Bangkok but till the time he could reach to claim his dead father’s 3000 Cr Empire, a dog named Entertainment has been given all of it in his last will. Rest is how this loyal friend of man wins hearts and after several failed attempts of Akhil trying to kill the dog, the both bonds like any other melodramatic affiliation Bollywood could come up the best.

Sajid-Farhad being a successful duo of writers with more than a couple of 100-Cr films in their kitty, film starts off good with jokes flowing all over; mostly mouthed by TV comic star Krushna playing a partner-in-crime to Akshay. His one-liners that include names of Bollywood actors twisted & linked with the sentences he speaks succeed in tickling you at most but after a point; you don’t really care for him as the mindless plot has already given you much numbness to feel any sensation. Get a flavor of it here so that even you don’t like to buy the tickets, you can have a hint of it…‘I Rajni-can’t believe this’, ‘lag gaya na tujhe A-shock Kumar’, ‘kahaan ja reha hai sonakshi Seen-ha taan ke’ and so on. You may also see it as his extended ‘comedy circus’ act.

ENTERTAINMENT slips off from its track to entertain soon after the intermission when story gets zoomed in to Prakash Raj and Sonu Sood playing Karan-Arjun, overtly emotional villainous brothers with memories of mother holding them together on the lines of Rakhi Gulzar’s character in KARAN ARJUN. Akshay gets into fight mode and then comes the typical Bollywood climax in the hospital where patient is declared dead but punching him hard on the chest in state of rejection could bring him back in life. Medical science has certainly contributed a lot in our happy endings!

Film also doesn’t leave anyone barred from making fun of their caste, colour & creed. So Johny Lever playing the legal advisor named Habibullah constantly faces wrong pronunciations of his name including ‘Gorilla’ ‘Lulla’ and what not! You can hear an ‘azaan’ like sound in the background whenever he’s hurt. At last, it is nothing but a directionless shot to force the ill-shaped meaning of ‘Entertainment’ i.e. hitting the 100 Cr mark anyhow, by any means. As Krushna’s Character would speak, “Iss film se entertainment ki Aasha Parekh ki, toh aapke dimaag ki Anupam Kher nahin’! [1.5/5]    

Friday 1 August 2014

LUCY: Enjoyable mash-up of chaotic Creative Junk & high-on intellectual trash! [2.5/5]

Human Brain has endless possibilities and a kind of galaxy of information that make us better and more sensible than any other living souls on this planet. But if Newton could push his to unravel the mystery of gravity after the ‘apple’ effect or the Wright brothers could manage to pull out their aeronautical inventions; trust me, they all were using just 10% of their mind. Naturally, we the average people don’t even hit that level. Now think, if mere 10% can make someone a Newton or Leonardo Da Vinci or Aryabhatta, what magical excellence a 100% would produce? LUCY, I say and that’s the cynicism one develops while watching Luc Besson’s science-fiction thriller LUCY. Trying to sound multifaceted, intricate and advanced like THE TREE OF LIFE and look slick-pacy & pulsating as LA FEMME NIKITA, LUCY actually ends up in being not more than a chaotic creative junk mixed with high-on intellectual trash.

Lucy, played by the ever-startling Scarlett Johansson gets in trap of a Korean mob during an involuntary drug delivery mess. Soon, she finds herself as one of the human drug carriers with a pack of highly synthetic CPH4 powder positioned in their lower abdomen in a surgical operation. Much before she could be transported to her planned destination, an unwanted brawl lends her in a serious problem or magical transformation in disguise. The pack gets burst and now the invincible chemical reactions start stimulating human mental powers to reach its maximum. No wonder, Lucy is now a superwoman who needs to walk the path of retribution and revolution, later!

From the very speedy time-lapse shots to the earth evolution theory getting reproduced on screen with amazing visuals, LUCY at places looks a distant cousin to THE TREE OF LIFE, though the depth and connect go missing at large. But if it is not into its National Geographic Mode, it is sure a thriller that never loses the steam. Monologues by Morgan Freeman, playing a neurology expert scientist talking about magical capabilities of a human mind and how evolution can become revolution followed by the same getting applied on Lucy’s situation is nicely interwoven. With just a 90 minute of duration, this is in fact too much jam-packed in one box. Film doesn’t think much before slipping and swapping genres of all kinds. At one if it joins the league of science-fiction, minutes later you will find it covered as a regular Hollywood action-thriller. No wonder, you don’t really feel like connected to any.

Having said that, it is not an unwatchable film at all! Scarlett Johansson alone is capable of pulling it off for the most, her earlier performance in HER shouts out loud to prove the point. Morgan Freeman is as usual extremely sincere and charismatic, one of my favorites. Besides, the visual effects are never involved and incomprehensible like we see in most of Hollywood’s regular Friday flicks but simplified or I would say over-simplified. Film’s action sequences are average. Drama is almost overshadowed by the cerebral investigations and research theories. I doubt if even Luc Besson had his share of 10% implied on this film. This is not a piece of information you would like to keep in your mind but having a good time with it, is completely different. Watch out for Ms. Johansson! [2.5/5]