SHAADI KE SIDE-EFFECTS: Hilarious in parts, dramatic second half loses the fun, pun & pace! [2.5/5]

The latest being, “this country election has only bachelors contesting against each other e.g. Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Mamta, Mayawati, Jayalalitha as only a bachelor is destined to change the fate of country otherwise married people can’t even change a TV Channel at their own”, jokes on marriages are the most tried and tested in any social gathering. Comforting-consolatory for married ones, cheering-encouraging for bachelors! Saket Chaudhary’s SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS tries to associate, formulate and encash the very same momentary bits of joy in a full-fledged drama on screen. No wonder, it turns out to be hilarious in parts but after a point, too stretched and unidirectional to recall as a full-on entertainer. An average romantic comedy with perhaps more funny one-liners to count on!

Vidya Balan playing Trisha and Farhan Playing Siddharth Roy [Interestingly, the namesake of Vidya’s real life husband] are a happy couple always trying their best to excite-ignite their marriage life with a certain formula in which they both act like strangers on holiday and keep flirting with each other as much as they could. It works but only till they are not into their parenthood. First, Trisha’s shifting focus from hubby to baby, then expectations to become the best father in the world, Sid is forced to lead a secret parallel life to keep the young carefree Siddharth in him alive.

SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS is freshly comic in its first part where humor often comes with funny situations Sid is put in. Though only from man’s standpoint, film does well with observatory analysis of changes in man-wife relationship after having baby. The sleepless nights, sexless life, exhausting baby-sitting sessions, everything just leaves you in splits. Things go overboard when the humor is outdone with the emotional drama to make and meet a justified end to all this.

A romantic comedy with lengthened 2 hours 25 minutes of duration with strictly avoidable song sequences is saved here only by Farhan Akhtar’s dedicated performance. As the irritated, infuriated, neglected, sidelined, unsure, self-indulgent, frustrated Sid, Farhan looks his part well. His charm as a sincere actor is maintained. Vidya Balan has nothing very prominent to show-off since the narrative is male-oriented but she succeeds in playing a dominant, overprotective and sometimes catty wife. A good hand at writing and delicious cameos made by Ram Kapoor, stand-up comic artist Vir Das and Ila Arun are also listing as points in favor of the film. Ram Kapoor as the aspirational father, reliable husband and a well-settled family man is absolutely flawless and perfect to the part. Vir Das continues to live up to his image. Ila Arun is a surprise.

Despite being loudly insensitive about kids [In one exaggerated sequence, Sid forgets to take care of his kid-daughter for a soccer match on TV] and women at all stages, SHAADI KE SIDE EFFECTS produces good laugh but not without forcing you to look at your wrist-watch more than once as when it all will be over. Film’s climax too is very filmy, unsound and forcefully liberal. Overall, marriage is an institution where everyone has his own degree of masters. I am not sure how many will associate to this experience but this one is more like ‘Baby Ke Side-Effects’! Cute & sweet are just a word, after a point! Pun intended! [2.5/5]                                     

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB: A Sure-shot winner with Matthew McConaughey in his career best! [4/5]

Heroes born with superpowers are usually from other planets. Their actions are larger than life. They fight baddies in a very enthralling manner. They endorse macho-ism particularly in looks. But they are unreal, illusory and fictional. In reality, heroes rise and shine when & where least expected. And that makes reality always stranger than fiction.

Jean-Marc Vallée’s Oscar nominated biopic DALLAS BUYERS CLUB documents the arousing story of one such real-life hero Ron Woodroof in 80’s. An electrician by profession and a part-time rodeo cowboy by preference Ron [Superlative performance by Matthew McConaughey] loves & lives to get high on paid sex and sniffing drugs of all kinds. One such regular day, he collapses and wakes up on the hospital bed with a shocking affirmation of having AIDS and 30 more days to be in this world!

After much denial of the self-aggrandizer macho man inside, Ron decides to go with AZT- the only drug approved by FDA [Food & Drug Administration] and that too for testing purpose only with no proven positive results. Fortuitously, Ron encounters an illegal doctor who prescribes him a mix of protein capsule with drugs that are banned in America. With an improved health and a homosexual partner Rayon [Jared Leto in a terrific supportive role]; Ron forms a Club in Dallas city to help people like him who are misguidedly forced to take legalized AZT that only helps the moneymakers in the business. Combating with system one-on-one for the people infected and destined to die and also with AIDS, makes Ron a hero of his times. He dies 7 years after the first time doctors gave him a period of 30 days to live. Now, this is what the story of survival should be.

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB finds a good shoulder to rest-grow & rise in Matthew McConaughey. He loses his physical weight to fit the bill but never in what he means to project and portray. He’s confident, convinced and a 100% contributor as Ron. As if transforming his appearance dynamically wasn’t enough, he comes with an influential, inspiring and one of the most imperative performances this year. First his denial of the fact, then hard-to-stand acceptance and later in his fight against system, he’s there and how. Absolutely committed act! In others, Jared Leto supports well as Rayon- an HIV-positive transgender having golden but crushed heart seeking out love, acceptance and respect as a human. Watch out for the part where he returns back to his father asking some financial help for the club. One of the best performances in the kind and an applause-worthy!

Film scores big on one more front; the sensibility and the intensity of the subject. The screenplay doesn’t lose its grip on both. Ron himself was once misinformed and cynical about AIDS targeting only to homosexuals but later befriends with one of them and starts handing out pills for free. Neatly edited, intensely shot and exceptionally acted, this survival drama with social importance is worth spending your time on. Book your tickets now…or if an ‘Oscar winner’ tag would encourage you more, wait for the announcements; it is a sure-shot winner all the way! [4/5]

NEBRASKA: Scenic, atmospheric, humorous...with Bruce Dern’s towering performance! [3.5/5]

Aging fathers with grimy-gritty sunken eyes, extensive mood-swings, dawdling fidgety walk, obstinacy in attitude and wrinkles all over being often projected as trophies for gaining life-experiences over the years, we all have met! Haven’t we? And mothers, always being cribby, bawling-howling over his downright failure to rise up as a better family man like someone in the neighborhood or in distant relation. Families in general have always been like that. Alexander Payne’s family drama NEBRASKA is exactly that. A family, I would not call a dysfunctional but a regular ‘been there-seen that’ kind of, with very existent emotions nevertheless, hitting all the right notes.

Veteran Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, an awfully old alcoholic wanting to leave something for their sons before taking depart from the world and desperately craving for travelling to Nebraska to collect prize-money of a million dollar in a magazine subscription sweepstake. He’s been told more than once about the nitty-gritty and the practicalities of the scheme but in view of his fortitude, urge and persistent actions, his son David [played by Will Forte] decides to take him through the journey he’s been anxious about. However, the loud-mouthed cynical mother Kate [played by June Squibb] doesn’t really approve the madness.

Soon they hit the road; it proves to be a voyage to look back what has been earned till when Woody gets reunited with his brother’s family and all life neighbors in his native place. Later, when accidently someone breaks the news of Woody soon getting into the league of millionaires, everyone seems a little more cordial towards him. His one of the best buddies tries to wrestle for some money allegedly he had loaned Woody only God knows when. David’s good-for-nothing cousins who were dead sarcastic about him till now, tries to rob them for the winning lottery ticket. And in between all this havoc, David starts knowing his father better. The bonding is strengthened and though Woody never actually wins the money, he takes u-turn with a consolatory hat with the caption ‘Prize-Winner’ written in bold and clear.

Shot admirably in black & white, NEBRASKA captures the scenic locales with extra-widen long shots and sets an atmospheric tone to the film. Characters here are well-written and don’t leave much scope for any disbelief regarding their existence. Drama is subtle and comedy comes mostly with deadpan humor. In one scene, David finds Woody’s lost denture and returns him with saying a practical joke that this doesn’t look his denture. Woody takes it seriously and denies taking it back; now the joke is on the son and when you realize it, you also get amazed even this man of lesser words could be funny at times.

On the performances, Bruce Dern is beyond conviction. The thin line between the character and the performer is almost blurred and shows no signage of separation. June Squibb as complaining, crabby, opinionated but cutely amiable mother is first-rate. THE DESCENDANTS fame Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA is a road movie that takes you on an emotionally rich, simply humorous, superbly written and luminously performed journey not very inventive, novel and unseen in idea but performances are worth taking this ride! [3.5/5]          

GULABI GANG: Deeply disturbing, shocking yet entertaining! Recommended!! [4/5]

More than 3 hours and I am still feeling suffocated with an utterly devastating insight about how inhuman, ruthless and cold-blooded our society can be. Wooden faced impassive men are shamelessly trying to cover up a planned murder of a young girl to avoid legal consequences for the family in question; quoting a Ramayana stanza that reads it’s all written in the destiny and we are no one to change. There is also a mother who doesn’t blink in doubts while confessing that she would totally understand the intensity of the crime if their sons could kill their own sister for dishonoring the family by marrying a man of her own choice. If this all looks or sounds an exaggerated dramatized plot of some thriller, let me pinch, punch and shake you up to the harsh reality we are in.

Nishtha Jain’s shockingly real GULABI GANG is packed with such shameful episodes and each one makes me feel like crying out loud over our dying empathy for humanity but that’s not all. There is a ray of hope too and in the courageous name of Sampat Pal, the founder lady of a pink clad women group aka the Gulabi Gang.

In the Bundelkhand Region, Sampat Pal runs an organization at her own to help women fight against crime. We all have seen her in a reality show on Indian television. We all, at some point have laughed at her overtly simple behavior but here, she beats us all and emerges as one of most determined, powerful and extremely concerned social worker. She can smell the fishy. She can make things in process. She can talk unhesitantly for the right. With her gang of 15000+ members, she does ‘dharna’ and ‘hunger strike’ against the powerful and corrupts. She leads, guides, educates and empowers the suppressed women around her. She shows us to be the voice for a change in this conservative, regressive and thoroughly patriarchy ruling power of men.

Nishtha Jain brilliantly documents the workings of the gang. From capturing the all burnt into ashes body of the girl murdered to questioning the local police in charge for their inactivity in filing the case, she actively participates as an earnest investigative partaker. Watch out for a shot where camera shows villagers of all ages gathered to witness the event but don’t really want to be vocal about and start moving out to leave the frame empty at the end.

Documentaries are known to be dead factual and less entertaining but GULABI GANG is sure an exception. If it makes you cringe with deeply disturbing truth of our society, fuming over your helplessness to bring some change and feel extremely sensitive about the sufferings women are facing in some part of our country not very far from where we are, it also fills you with its sheer proportion of entertainment. For instance; in an incident, as Sampat Pal recollects, one uninformed lady was told to give her vote on the symbol ‘Chair’ of course on the ballot paper but she ended up putting stamp over a wooden chair nearby and the mistake got repeated for more than 50 times for the women next in line. Ironic but entertaining!

Overall, there can never be a pretext why one should not watch it. We may not have time to spare from our ‘comforted’ life schedules. We may have our own priorities in life to make it better but trust me; this is bigger than yours and definitely not something out of this world. A little concern and some acknowledgement will do much in restoring the humanity in us. A must-watch! [4/5]                       

THE MONUMENTS MEN: Forced, forged and forgettable! Historic Disappointment!! [2.5/5]

In the midst of World War II, when Hitler- the Fuehrer was busy slaughtering humanity, demolishing civilization and bull-dozing every pillar of culture here and there, a group of art-readers, historians and curators decides to locate and save the sculptures, paintings and art-materials captured in the war. Now this is based on a real story and it does sound an all exhilarating experience to relive-revive and retold on screen in a greater manner but sadly, written & directed by George Clooney THE MONUMENTS MEN dies a death of a promising idea gone lost in between. Despite being crispier in duration of the film, it looks forced, forged and forgettable event, in cinema at least.

Lt. Stokes [played by Clooney himself] forms a squad of 7 art-lovers well-known for their experiences with art and certainly not with the war to search for stolen artworks in the war field. Like most in any mission, the troop includes a couple of grumpy, fighting for nothing old men [Bill Murray and Bob Balaban], one heavy, plumpy, stout man [John Goodman], one ever-smiling young man [Jean Dujardin] and a quite somber man with vision [Matt Damon]. The more disorganized team looks, the more thrilling experience it would promise to the viewers, that’s the unsaid rule of any mission oriented plot. THE MONUMENTS MEN had it in concept but soon they land on the ground level, Clooney fails to hold the plot together. The shattered screenplay couldn’t shift focus from talking endlessly about how important it is to save those artworks to the real action on real location.

With a list of clean performers on board, beautiful cinematography, grandeur look, high-end production value, Clooney sets the atmosphere for a perfect war crime thriller but writing doesn’t support well in creating any recognizable nail-biting moment for instance. Scenes swing from one to other not much in concern to make story forward but establishing the actors and giving them a sustainable job. Humor is tried but doesn’t meet its desired end at most. Matt Damon trying his hands on different languages and every time people advising him stick to English only is one joke that gets repeated at regular. Luckily, that doesn’t go with Bill Murray and Bob Balaban. They are the only of the lot who gets maximum number of impressive scenes and some real comic ones. Cate Blanchett looks her part.

Overall, where most Hollywood films have proved themselves in extracting the inhuman catastrophe of war and the heroic efforts to save mankind to its maximum and on a larger canvas, George Clooney’s THE MONUMENTS MEN fails to grip, grasp and grab preferred attention. It is a disappointment and an average heist movie with lesser number of hi-points. Avoid it even if you’re a hardcore fan of every actor in the brigade! [2.5/5]                     

HIGHWAY: An Imtiaz Ali film that is so not Imtiaz Ali Film! It’s different!! [3.5/5]

Expectations lead us to disappointments, by and large. But with Imtiaz Ali’s HIGHWAY, it is us who fall short of what to expect from this modern-age master of romance. Imtiaz is known to dig up diverse human relationships in order to drench us in the most vigorous and spirited emotions one can feel. HIGHWAY is no exception in substance but definitely in its approach. Through this journey of love, longings & togetherness in just not-so-feasible settings, Imtiaz dares to push his boundaries as a filmmaker and comes up with a love-story much darker, edgier and better than his bests.

Loosely based on ‘Stockholm syndrome’ where victim starts feeling compassionate, concerned, considerate and connected to offender’s sufferings that come as baggage from times of yore and drive him to perform such crimes, HIGHWAY brings two damaged souls troubled with their respective haunting pasts closer. Just a couple of hours before her wedding, Veera [Alia Bhatt as a revelation] accidently gets abducted by a murderous gang of goons largely dealing in petty illegal practices of land-grabbing & mugging on highways. Realizing the fact that the father is a hot-shot industrialist having his connections rooted in powerful politics and that their unplanned abduction could turn things on their own; they, especially the leading man here cold-hearted Mahavir Bhati [Randeep Hooda proving his comfort, ability and confidence in playing the character] decides to stick with the plan. Not knowing where it could get them both, starts the road-trip through scenic, rustic, mystic locales of North India.

Fans would agree that Imtiaz’s films have always been loud about life’s very existence despite its own flaws and imperfections but here silence speaks more. So, most of the times all you hear is submissive background score by AR Rahman filling in to the subjective road-shots captured from behind the front glass of the truck. Characters here have deeper secrets from pasts. Veera is a victim of incestuous child abuse. Mahavir has seen a tormented childhood where his father would throw his mother into sexual favors to his rich & powerful master. Sure you haven’t expected all that in an easygoing Imtiaz Film. Sure you wanted to get entertained with all candy floss romance and not some harsh reality that speaks how women are unsafe even if they are in considerably the most secured place for them called home. So, disappointment comes easy for you.

What you can not have any iota of uncertainty on is the performances. Alia Bhatt is a surprise packet of the film. The presence, effortlessness, confidence she shows is extremely rare for anyone who’s just one film old in the line of work. She’s beautiful and she acts the same way. Randeep Hooda sinks his teeth into the rugged, rigid, vigorously ferocious character of Mahavir. Watch him in his final outburst as he hesitates to go on the crossroad that could either take him to a better world filled with love & affection or could throw him back in the pit of crime and hatred.

Breathtaking visuals, grasping soundtrack, juicy dialogues and performances that will never leave you alone even after leaving the theatre; HIGHWAY has it all but not for all. With the portions with docu-drama style of shooting, extended shots, rhythmic travelling footage, reduced usage of dialogues; it is not an easy film to watch. It’s different. It’s dark. It’s one of those that add up your expectations. I am all excited to see what next Imtiaz Ali could come with! Recommended! [3.5/5]

HER: Imaginative, inventive and extremely human! [4.5/5]

Prank in which friends pass on mobile calls to other saying there is someone asking for him; later to make him realize that it is just a recorded computerized voice message from service providers of all kind, is an age-old tasteless joke ever played on you. But think of a next level in futuristic world not so far-off where technology has made into our lives so fanatically that we are bound to get connected to them for our every single need including the emotional support only human could afford to offer till now…and that is the premise on which celebrated filmmaker Spike Jonze constructs one of the finest and the amazingly fascinating mankind-meets-technology romantic science-fiction called ‘HER’.

Writing personal letters for his clients who may not have enough time and skill to do that and posting them to their loved ones on behalf is what Theodore Twombly [Played by Joaquin Phoenix] has been doing for a very long. This is the world where every single machinery around is operated by voice commands and you literally have nothing in the name of social connect. He is a loner on the verge of a broken marriage. His only pastime is silly interactive video-games with body movement recognition on life-size screen. Soon, he finds an artificially intelligent operating system run by a female voice named Samantha [Scarlett Johansson’s magical voice]. She can talk. She can discuss. She can observe state of mind of the one she’s talking to. She can chuckle. She can joke. She can see things and have her own opinion about them. She is everything but a trapped soul in a computer system without having any body. No wonder, Theodore finds a companion in her to share his loneliness and the emotional drain he’s been in. The bond gradually moves into a serious mutual relationship in which Samantha discovers much more than she’s designed to experience. Where would this unusual, odd but extremely emotional and ‘no less than any human’ love-story find its end, is the next in line.

In HER, Spike Jonze paints a beautiful world using bright, vivid and vibrant color palette decorated luminously with minimal props and innovative art-design. The shades of red & yellow worn by Phoenix are nothing short of visual treat for eyes. Brilliantly shot outdoors to establish subtle futuristic world and aesthetically sticking to extreme close-ups to capture varied human emotions set an example in skilled cinematography. Editing is crisp and shows an upper hand especially in lyrical montages where Theodore recollects moments from his past relationship. Silence has its own rhythm in music and the sound designing in HER definitely knows how to employ and exploit that.

On one hand if it is a wonderful work of filmmaking, it is also exceptionally good at performances. Joaquin Phoenix in broad frames and thick moustache delivers one of his bests. Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha excels in emoting through just what you hear and not seen at all situation and makes her presence felt completely. Amy Adams plays a colleague-cum-friend to Theodore who’s always there with her unconditional support to him.

Having said that, though it stumbles a bit in the second half with a repetitive approach in the series of events, Spike Jonze’s HER never slips from being the most inventive, imaginative and one of the cutest love-story on screen in a long time. I loved HER and I don’t see any reason why you would not. A Must-watch!! [4.5/5]   

GUNDAY: Drama drives a bumpy ride! Story thrown to back seat!! [2.5/5]

If 70’s hit box-office formula, exploited mercilessly later in 90’s, of macho-giri, hero-panthi & solid dialogue-baazi could still guarantee an out-sized rage in entertainment, YashRaj film’s GUNDAY would have easily been a winner all the way but what it misses out in translation is the unforeseen elements in the plot. So, GUNDAY- the saga of love, friendship & betrayal remains limited and disappoints for the most part.

In a GANGS OF WASSEYPUR-ish docudrama style of narration, Irrfan playing a confident cop takes us back in 1971’s Bangladesh where 2 young guns are forced to flee and find a shelter in Calcutta only to rise as the second most famous [infamous would do the justice] craze after the monumental Howrah Bridge. These so-called ‘local Robinhoods’ & the biggest goons of their times [Ranveer playing Bikram and Arjun being Bala] are into every illegal business in the list. So far so good, but then the next chain of events is not very tricky to track down when both fall in ‘sachche wala pyaar’ with the same girl [Priyanka Chopra sizzles as a cabaret dancer]. Film gets derailed from being a hardcore anti-hero film to bring down the dysfunctional system to a typical romantic triangle with an outdated pinch of betrayal and misunderstandings coming in the way of friendship and love.

Setting a story in 70’s-80’s brings plenty of interesting nuances in the plot to rejoice. Rajesh Khanna is mentioned as a superstar girls fall for, for more than once. Mithun da’s dance moves are hard to ignore in choreography. Bappi Lahiri’s voice is prominently used to catch the bong-connection. The colors and characters also smell rustic & next-door [One specific character can’t stop himself addressing his bloodthirsty rival as ‘dada’]. Obviously the direction is on the right track but obviousness in plot kills the grandness of GUNDAY. Why to borrow [Copy-paste] from storylines that are done-to-death? I don’t have any clue and I guess the thinking tanks behind this would also not have a justification.

Film if manages to hold your attention, despite being tad lengthy by at least 15-20 minutes, the credit goes to its production value which makes it a grandeur explosion of drama on screen, the performances mainly of Irrfan who is regular but delightfully charming with some of the cheesiest lines and an attitude that becomes skin to the character and last but not the least the high-voltage drama. Whatever happens here happens in a slow-motion technique. Everyone appears from a hazy-foggy-smoky background. Punches hit the chiseled body in high-speed. In the rest, Ranveer outshines with a good performance. Arjun impresses but not without showing limitations as an actor. Priyanka does it the way she’s known to.

Overall, Ali Abbas Jafar’s glorification of anti-heroes ends up in a lengthy bumpy ride that is enjoyable in parts, grand in looks but definitely not worthy enough to be a descendant of bygone era’s masala/mass entertainers. Watch it if your idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day is nothing else but to see two shirtless men fighting for one girl. [2.5/5]  

SAVING MR. BANKS: A fairly good film about a good fairytale on screen! [3.5/5]

Disney is celebrating its glorious 90 years in the magical world of entertainment. And to make this celebration even more endearing and rewarding, there could never be a better legend than the almost impossible unification of Walt Disney- the man himself & the old grumpy complaining writer of the famous ‘Mary Poppins’ stories Mrs. Travers; in order to bring the character alive on screen. John Lee Hancock’s SAVING MR. BANKS revisits the trying times in the acquaintance between the both. It is historical, humane, emotional, inspirational & much more to cinema-lovers than being just an enjoyable ride.

Mr. Walt Disney [deliciously played by Tom Hanks] has been trying to attain Mrs. Travers’ [marvelous Emma Thompson with a showsteeler performance] approval on the screen-rights to convert her most-loved novel in a live-animation motion picture from last 20 years. This year, Mrs. Travers has decided to reconsider her snubbing behavior and confirms to meet the team working on it but not without her never-ending list of objections in apprehension. Film narrates the plot in two parallel storylines, one being the present with Mrs. Travers’ annoying inhibitions in each & every developments in every aspect of film-making techniques and the other being the childhood memories of her relationship with her extremely caring but alcoholic father.

The more you spend time in the film you get to know the reasons why Mrs. Travers has been so anxious about little things mentioned and need to be altered in the writing for screen. We also identify the unsaid links between the essentials in Mary Poppins story and its bricks in the foundation from her emotionally shaken past. Though you always have it in the back of your mind that this association is going to happen at the end, the strongly unpredictable nature of proceedings makes you keep speculating how this would get materialized.

In the starcast, Colin Ferrell as Mrs. Travers’ alcoholic father who sure knows how to pamper his young daughters but not the money-driven world gives a moving performance. Paul Giamatti plays a good-humored chauffeur to Mrs. Travers and keeps the expectations fulfilled. Watch him where he explains why he is always excited with sudden change in weather. Tom Hanks as Walt Disney brings sheer energy in the air. It is a delightful portrayal of a nervous filmmaker who despite being a powerful name in the business, is forced to do compromises. But the film belongs solely to Emma Thompson. As an uncompromising stubborn old lady, she delivers an all praiseworthy performance. She makes an impression that could irritate you, make you laugh at her strange behavior but also stays with you long after leaving the theater.

Overall, John Lee Hancock’s SAVING MR. BANKS is a film for people who don’t restrict themselves from what only appears on big screen but also carry zeal & enthusiasm to know more about cinema and stories connected to each of them. Watch it to cherish the rock solid efforts behind the making of 1964’s classic fairytale MARY POPPINS! [3.5/5]

HASEE TOH PHASEE: Parineeti rules! Writing Rocks!! One of the most refreshing Rom-Com!! [3.5/5]

If I could really take my eyes off the extremely sweet, lovable, charming, carefree and magically inexplicable Parineeti Chopra in debutante Vinil Matthew’s ‘no non-sense’ romantic comedy HASEE TOH PHASEE, I would have certainly noticed the ‘time demands’ merger of one of the most celebrated production houses in the industry and the most promising pool of talents. No wonder the product in result comes out as one of the most refreshing, brilliantly acted, smartly written but quite a balanced in nature rom-com in recent.

It neither forces you with the typical candy floss boy-meets-girl feel with all those unreal slow-motion shots overflowing with foot-tapping song & dance numbers and forceful melodramatic complications in the storyline. Karan Johar style of cinema masters in that league. Nor it makes you feel drained out with insipid, self-indulged, dead existent stories with layered harsh reality what Anurag Kashyap school of cinema is known for. It stands somewhere in the middle of both.

Nikhil, played by Sidharth Malhotra is all set to loose his bachelorhood for his girlfriend Karisma [Adah Sharma] of 7 years. Just 7 days to the d-day & he happens to meet a girl from the bride-side who’s no one else but Karisma’s younger sister Meeta, played by the infectious livewire called Parineeti Chopra. She supposedly was a drug-addict. She has this weird syndrome that deals with different kind of sensations in body as described by her, “thartharahat, sarsarahat, sansanahat, gudgudahat, dagmagahat, farfarahat & more”. She takes pills to be active on life. She eats toothpastes. She blinks her eyes in a certain ‘in your face’ way. She talks faster than you imagine. She’s anything but the girl next door; still you will find it hard to look anywhere else if she’s there in the frame. You feel connected to the girl who is equally sentimental but confined & reserved in revealing the wounds from her past. Same goes with confused Nikhil who is now left with choices that could ruin or rule his life afterward.   

HASEE TOH PHASEE is a good mix of over-the-top Indian emotions with uber cool practicalities of today’s generation. So, if there is a ‘would-be Damaad’ asking for financial help from his ‘would-be Sasur’- a saree king, in the most unhesitant manner, you would also find a rigidly traditional family that could abandon their kid for life as she had once decided to run away from the house. Though the film couldn’t save itself from being conventional & convenient specifically in the storyline, it compensates that with the garden-fresh characters [Casting director Mukesh Chhabra deserves applause for giving apt faces to fill the requirement], believable performances, quirky-witty-smart writing [Harshvardhan Kulkarni takes the credit here] & a sense of pragmatism while dealing with the situations. Beautifully cinematographed & crisply edited! But the performances are above all especially Parineeti. She amazes, surprises & also manages to move your heart with her ‘blinking eyes’ presence on screen. Sidharth plays it highly confident and a total fit for the role.

At the end, it feels good to see that the genre of romantic comedy in Bollywood is getting blessed by good grown-up writing. Watch it if you want a nice break from regular romantic love-stories! Watch not if you still believe in unreal overdramatic romance only made for cinema-screens! [3.5/5]

12 YEARS A SLAVE: Dark, depressing, tragic tale of survival that fails to overcome & overwhelm! [3/5]

Sitting in an air-conditioned auditorium of a multiplex & holding a bucket full of buttered popcorn in one hand and the iced cola glass in the other, if I would dare to confirm that I could actually feel the pain of slavery in the proclaimed measure, either I would be lying or the creation is truly empathetic. I would save myself from going either ways. Steve McQueen’s potential sweepstake at Oscars and a real-life drama ’12 YEARS A SLAVE’ does make me uncomfortable with the impact of brutality in the storytelling. It also succeeds in evoking my angst against this unkind, inhuman ill-practice called slavery but not the way Tarantino orchestrate in DJANGO UNCHAINED or Spielberg embraces in AMISTAD & SCHINDLER’S LIST. I am not overwhelmed.

Based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is an inspiring survival saga of a free Negro’s journey through 12 years of unfortunate times in the custody of slavery. Kidnapped by two of his acquaintances, Solomon is now forced to live the life of a slave. His past as head of the happy family of a loving wife with 2 beautiful kids haunts him to make a run for life but the necessitate of survival keeps him forever on trade-board from one master [the generous & bighearted William Ford played by Benedict Cumberbatch] to another [Michael Fassbender playing Mr. Epps- strong believer of slavery and inequality of all kinds in human race]. Meanwhile every pain and sufferings Solomon and his people go through become a significant part of Solomon’s memoir.

12 YEARS A SLAVE doesn’t stick to linear narrative and moves back & forth on the timeline to create an effective after-effect of the change in circumstances. Film’s strength is definitely the ruthlessly real portrayal of brutality. Man & women getting stripped and whipped till their skin peels off and showing it on screen without having any apprehension is bad enough to make you feel gnashing your teeth in anger, desperation and anxiety. Background score makes varied impressions with thumping sounds, grasping silence and instrumentals that form ripples of emotions in you. Camerawork is superb. It takes out something from you in those horrific scenes of torture, rape and hopelessness and fills you in with conspicuous visuals in daylight especially.

All these and then the performances! Chiwetel Ejiofor is more than just flesh & bone to Solomon Northup. His gazing empty eyes with a little ray of hope to find everything in place in the end are totally engaging. He deserves every inch of Oscar trophy in the category. Film also gets a certain somber touch of realism with shots that long more than a couple of minutes. In one, you get to see Solomon being hanged by neck to a tree and he sweats like anything to find his feet on muddy surface. This one sequence goes on and on till you feel suffocated by yourself.

Good for some but then this less dramatic approach with all dark, depressing, gloomy feel & pace to it turns regular and routine after a point when nothing actually comes forward as a solid storyline and rests merely on series of incidents. Even the climax comes out of nowhere and merges into the end very conveniently. The actual events might have happened like that but if not cherished as awe-inspiring celebration of life at the end, it would be difficult to rejoice as a good comfortable viewing. Watch it for the performances! [3/5] 

ONE BY TWO: Some ‘Khushfahemiyaan’ result in ‘Galatfehmiyaan’! This is one of those! [1.5/5]

Go for any ‘picture perfect’ picturesque postcard of your preferred dream-destination and try to imagine looking at it for longer period of time [Precisely 2 hour and 19 minutes in this case] and no matter how strongly you wanted to be at that place, you will end up falling in the fear of loathing it with tremendous boredom. Screenplay writer Devika Bhagat’s début directorial venture ONE BY TWO is that very beautiful montage of tranquil but lifeless frames that doesn’t decide to move at all and stands still till you decide to walk away.

ONE BY TWO is an urban rom-com about 2 individuals, best described as ‘clichéd fools’, sharing monotonous boring lives of same intensity in its own. Amit Sharma, played by Abhay Deol is stuck in his life-cubicle with a couple of vigorously influential friends, overtly affectionate mother, a totally ‘deserved to be overlooked’ father and his soon-to be-an ‘Ex’ girlfriend. On the other, Samara Patel [Abhay’s real life love-interest Preeti Desai] is torn between an alcoholic divorcee mother and her sky high ambitions to rock the stage in a dance-reality show. Now, there is nothing in the story that could show off a ‘New & Fresh’ tag to it. You have seen it all in more than few romantic comedies on Indian screen.

Though the approached manner of filmmaking smells spanking new with less dramatic situations, concisely crisp dialogues straight from the horse’s mouth with flavors being genuine, real and almost unwritten but in a way, it is too simple, ordinary and pathetically slow-paced to be entertained. Film does have enjoyable moments, by and large with Abhay Deol being the person in charge but not sufficient in numbers. Watch him playing the popular ‘Nirma’ jingle on guitar in desperate times after his break-up. In other, he performs on ‘I am Pakao’ed´ in his boxers when his potential in-laws come to approve him of being an eligible son-in-law.

With sharp hands on editing beautifully amalgamated with promising narrative pattern, skilled cinematography and neat-clean-classy art direction, film paints scenic frames on screen but not without a long-list of ‘ifs & buts’. Story rejects to move ahead. Situations are dragged and absolute run-of-the mill. Leave the impeccably adorable and talented Abhay aside and the ‘known for it’ performers [Rati Agnihotri, Jayant Kriplani, Lillete Dubey, Darshan Jariwala] ham like there’s no tomorrow. Preeti Desai looks good on screen, is confident but that doesn’t get translated much on screen when it comes to acting. Pace is killing. Length is drastically stretched.

On the whole, Devika Bhagat’s ONE BY TWO is not bad because it is bad but worse because it ruins the option and opportunity to redefine the ‘not much explored’ genre of ‘easy-on the head’ urban romantic comedy sliced from the lives of cool, carefree & casual generation of today’s times. Would it not have located its base on the clichés, it could have been much better. Samara Patel enforces in the film, “I don’t believe in fairytales. Real life is better”, I wish Devika had taken it seriously while putting it all on the paper. Some ‘Khushfahemiyaan’ result in ‘Galatfehmiyaan’. You don’t get mislead. [1.5/5]