YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI: A journey not so refreshing! [2/5]

It feels extremely annoying & unacceptable to see what all started with a huge potential & promise to bring freshness and a certain kind of novelty to the content part in Bollywood films [How can you forget the nice, sincere, feel good, simplistic yet multi-layered, emotional to its core impressive ‘WAKE UP SID’?], getting trampled, crushed & shattered from left, right & center with a much clichéd, unoriginal, full of gimmicks, star-driven [Yes, you’ll miss the actors here] preachy & perplexed average romantic comedy ‘YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI’. I didn’t see it coming from you, Mr. Ayan Mukherji…not even in my weirdest dream.

So, haven’t we met before a bunch of buddies who have their own perception and expectations from life, they spend good times together, one girl trapped in her own world falls for the fun-loving carefree guy but the guy has plans for life other than just being in a relationship [Exploring the world around the globe in this case], they get separated by their priorities, time flies & we see them getting reunited this time in a more celebration mode the Indian way…& love strikes again. No prizes for guessing, it’s time to repair & rectify damages done in the past? Nothing could more regular than this.

Now, I do understand one having hell of limitations while making ‘just another’ love-story that doesn't give you much strength with its writing to built something real good, so we have an item number by an yesteryear sensation [The ravishing Madhuri Dixit in her usual best], dreamy jaw-dropping beautiful locations, high-on style sets and costumes, perfectly polished characters, songs & dance numbers on regular intervals, forced kissing scene [between the two ex-flames in real life]…and a few unexciting-poorly executed guest appearances to save the day and flaws in the substance!

Watch it if only the charming looks of Deepika Padukone & the cuteness of Ranbir Kapoor can make you look at the screen for hours with unblinking eyes [in other words if you are a hardcore fan], other wise I would choose Farookh Shaikh’s 2-scene appearance, the ‘Ghaghra via Agra’ song, confidently cool & fresh Kalki & a few ‘buddies at best’ scenes out of this whole 2 hour 41 min of tiresomely predictable movie experience. Don’t dare take this journey! It’s not adventurous, it’s suicidal! **[2/5]

THE GREAT GATSBY: magic for some, tragic for some!

Love is one such celebration of life that may look a wonderful experience to watch as an outsider but, sometimes, costs nothing less than utter loneliness & excruciating pain within for the host. Baz Luhrmann’s lyrical-magical-tragic drama THE GREAT GATSBY unfolds emotional layers of love through the changing times.

Set in 1920’s, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) - an ameture bond-seller at Wall street finds and befriends with a mysteriously wealthy ‘talk of the town’ lone extravagant named Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) in his dreamy filthy rich neighbourhood who throws grand larger than life parties for almost everyone in the town but probably no one cares about the lonesomeness he possesses in linger for his lady-love in bad times Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) to come back in his good times now. But is it good enough to regain what is lost in past?

THE GREAT GATSBY looks a bollywood film in many senses. The tragic love story where poor gets rich and now tries his best to get her lost love back, grand sets & astonishing art direction that creates a world wirth reference directly taken from fairytales and the soundtrack that celebrates life at every stage. Though, with a duration of almost 2 hour 30 min, slow pace, uneven screenplay and too much graphic work for an emotional love saga makes it a complete ‘no’ for entertainment-seekers.

Performances are good. DiCaprio excels the cast. My favourite scene of his is where he is to meet his girlfriend of the past, for the first in 5 long years and he is so anxious to make it all look impressive. Terrific! Besides, there is also Bachchan Saab. After all the Hullabaloo over his debut in Hollywood, I must say its great to see him sharing a good comfortable space on-screen with DiCaprio & Tobey…and he undoubtedly makes a mark in his small but unmissable role of Meyer Wolfsheim. I wish some more meaty roles from Hollywood to make it worth what this man deserves.

In nutshell, this literature-inspired emotion-bleeding drama is a cinematic experience where fine performances are overpowered by splendid visuals and superlative art-direction…but not for all. Strictly for those who love cinema for the sake of its art & craft. ***[3/5]                    

AURANGZEB: performances save the day!

Double-role thrillers aren't new to Bollywood but sure, we haven’t seen much in recent. So, in that scenario, Atul Sabharwal’s AURANGZEB does succeed in creating curiosity as what shape this effort is going to take and how! Taking cues and clues from much-enjoyed masala double-role entertainers, Atul positively takes the ‘what not to do’ route in creating a thoroughly engaging gangster-police nexus set in the concrete jungles of Gurgaon where land-mafia, real-estate dominants, cops, politicians tussle over either gaining the supreme power to rule the city or getting their hands dirty on big time illegal money flowing allover. 

DCP Ravikant [the impeccable-the inimitable Rishi Kapoor shocks you with his powerful presence in each segment] digs out a forgotten past to find a twin brother of the son [both played by Arjun Kapoor] whose father is supposedly an uncrowned emperor in dark-world of illicit businesses covered in real-estate silk. The twin brother is now planted in his brother’s spot to help the ruthlessly ambitious DCP in destroying his own father’s empire…but as the title itself suggests the characteristics of the story; do not trust anybody in this brutal game of power & control.

The best things about AURANGZEB are the performances, its ‘fits right in the place’ cast & dialogues that are fresh, meaningful & engaging, even the screenplay gives you an earthy-real location atmosphere to hold but the problem here lies in the story that never comes with a ‘new/ fresh arrival’ tag to it. So, most of the times at your back of mind, you would know what’s coming up next. Another problem is the momentum, things happen at a breathless speed. At first, you might find that exhilarating enough to be in an ‘on edge of the seat’ situation but sooner or later, you become unbothered about ‘too fast to furious’ twists in the tale and gets yourself settled into the backrest mode.

At best, it is a formula thriller with good performances [Prithviraj for instance] that gets its emotions right but the lack of freshness & a sloppy climax kills the thrill. Watch out if you don’t have much to do this weekend, otherwise wait for it to reach you rather than you rushing to theaters near you.[2.5/5] 

GIPPI: A ‘coming of age’ teenage drama? not really-not entirely!!

When was the last time you saw a teenage girl, on the verge of attaining puberty, discussing the noticeable changes in physical appearance with a friend of same age...in a bold-intrepid manner, without being hesitant and apologetic about it at any minute?

I guess that never happened on Indian screen before…and solely for that very ‘I will talk what I feel’ attitude, Sonam Nair’s GIPPI is appreciative. But as they say in Bollywood, “a good start never ensures an equally better end”, GIPPI too falls short of expectations it creates in the very beginning.

Fat, clumsy, chubby, not-so-presentable but fun-loving, goodhearted, charming girl of 14 lives in a close bunch of friends like her (insultingly being called as losers by a green-tea addicted, hot body, heavily accented fellow student) and in an even predictably dreamy family of her single mother & an irritating younger brother, having bigger issues than his waist size.

Film constantly & comfortably comes up with a plenty of feel-good moments that bring smiles of your face but most of the times, not because of the situation but the lovely character GIPPI represents. The problem lies in the writing that becomes too convenient, predictable and dramatically regular at places.

To conclude, GIPPI is a sugar-coated, candy floss kind of effort that forcibly tries to overcome its flaws in order to be a ‘coming of age’ teenage drama. Watch out for the amazingly fresh presence of GIPPI on the screen and her warm-funny-inviting chemistry with the mother (Divya Dutta in her regular avatar) but sadly it's not good enough to make you fall in love for long. Do it one more time, I say. **[2/5]

GO GOA GONE: Bloody Good!

If you have seen ZOMBIELAND or SHAUN OF THE DEAD, you must know what does the genre ZOM-COM stand for? But if you haven’t and are only restricted to Bollywood Cinema, Raj & DK’s GO GOA GONE is your guide to the world of Zombies on screen. Though, against the Hollywood movies I mentioned above, it looks a little premature ground level effort to introduce a completely new genus in Indian cinema but it’s seriously good & impressive.

3 friends forever bored/thrown/bashed up/beaten up emotionally, professionally & in personal life decide to find the lost pulse & pleasure of getting high on drugs, drinks & girls in Goa- the host to fluorescently lit trippy-trancy-smoky rave parties…but soon after the phase of addiction is faded down, they are enforced to encounter their not-so-familiar horror of lifetime Zombies all over the place. And then begins the roller-coaster journey of survival filled with witty dialogues, absurdly funny one-liners and creepy humor with sheer non-nonsensical comic portions.

Yes, you heard it right! GO GOA GONE’s merit lies in its honest approach that never promises to be serious for once in the whole 119 mins of duration, so you may find some not so hilarious moments and some repetitive sequences too but it does not fall short of bringing a constant smile on your face and a lot of loud laughs in second part specially…that too, without losing the thrills as what will come next. 

Kunal makes a mark with his sharp comic timing, Vir is regular, Anand Tiwari is efficient and Saif is competent but all the praises to Raj & DK for opening a new territory in Indian film industry! We have got our first Zombie film and it is bloody good. ENGAGING-IMPRESSIVE-FUNNY ***[3/5]

SHOOTOUT AT WADALA: Avoid it and feel blessed.

What could be the bigger irony that Bollywood has come up with release of a film like SHOOTOUT AT WADALA on the same day; Indian cinema got its first film released? It's been 100 years now...and we still believe in such regressive product.

Sanjay Gupta's obsession with underworld is not concealed to anyone whoever is familiar with his name. But with SHOOTOUT AT WADALA, he stinks like rotten vegetables more, than just sticking to his love. It's a male chauvinist film that relies completely on exhibition of bare body in irrelevance to genders, showcasing muscle power in slow motion, hammering action sequences with forcibly breaking glasses- screeching sound, glorifying the negatives, unapologetic foul-mouthed characters, titillating portrayal of women as sex symbols...and what not! 

Victimized by police, Manya surve- allegedly a sincere student is now force-fit into the pit of crime, only to face the deadly hollows of rivalry with the uprising D-gang and some fearless men in uniforms...the plot sounds good but it ends where it hasn’t even begin from. 

Based partly on S. Hussain zaidi's book on the first encounter ever in history by Mumbai police, the film rather than documenting the facts, decides to create 'ho-halla' over star values and item numbers on regular intervals in the name of entertainment...that too in its loudest & worst form. You never feel for Manya Surve once, even when just before end credits, screen reads, "Manya got 78% marks with distinction in his academics the day he got arrested." I seriously doubt if Sanjay Gupta has really read or kept Zaidi's book in question on his film set to bring some authenticity to the story line.

With 150 min of 'hard to sit through' duration and low-IQ'd dialogues that if I could write any of them here, it would have more stars than the whole movie gets from me. It is a total waste of your money and time. We have seen much better underworld dramas in Bollywood in the past; this is nowhere close to any of them. Avoid it and feel blessed. ** [2/5]

P.S. This film sees debut of Siddhant Kapoor, son of the veteran Shakti Kapoor…and all I can say about his acting and appearance is that “jhelne ke liye ek hi shakti kapoor kafi the, aap kyun aa gaye??”

BOMBAY TALKIES : Cinema has given you a lot, now its time to return the favor! [4/5]

On the day when Indian cinema is celebrating its glorious centenary; I still remember how I, in my pre-teens, used to run after movie promotional rickshaws every time they showed up in my village, just in hope to get a movie poster someday. Memories are still fresh when my craze for the dynamic Kajol landed me in celebrating her birthdays and posting articles and photographs of her in a secret diary [I still have it :)] and trust me, there are numerous other examples of hardcore fascination towards Indian cinema that run in our veins secretly but passionately.

Karan-Zoya-Dibakar-Anurag’s BOMBAY TALKIES is one of loveliest short film bouquet that takes us through how Cinema or for that matter Bollywood has become an integral part of our lives. So, you see Karan Johar effectively pushing his boundaries as a filmmaker and walking around the dark galore of homosexuality where two people [played immaculately by Randeep Hooda & Saquib Saleem] bond over their common taste & love for bollywood music…SENSITIVE-BOLD-CONFIDENT! 

Zoya Akhtar decides to tell a dreamy story of a teenage boy [All praises for Naman Jain- the child actor] who idolizes Katrina Kaif as shiela and has now discovered his passion for being a dancer like her, rather than enrolling for masculine sports i.e. soccer…ENGROSSING! 

Dibakar Banerji presents Nawazuddin in a story originally written by Satyajit Ray, for a power-packed performance as a small time theatre-artist who is quite a failure in real world but seeks a new glossy story in reel world to bring rewarding smile on his bedridden daughter…MOVING-HEARTFELT-IMPRESSIVE. 

Anurag Kashyap’s short is definitely the most entertaining of the lot. A common man from Allahabad struggles to meet his cinema-idol Amitabh Bachchan just to fulfill his father’s sort of unusual last wish…HILARIOUS & LIKEABLE! 

This ode to cinema works for its finesse for the craft that gives you first rate performances, brilliance of writing, flawless screenplay & the most importantly its exhaustive realistic approach to stay honest to each segment and subject. Not all the stories are unheard before but the sincerity in execution demands a must watch in theaters. This is not strictly experimental for classes, this is not formula based for masses…but a rare for all cinema lovers. Cinema has given you a lot, now its time to return the favor! [4/5]