ज़ेड प्लस: आम आदमी की ख़ास कहानी! दिमाग लेकर जाएँ!! [3.5/5]

कोई बॉलीवुड फिल्म एक छोटे से गाँव में अपना बसेरा बना ले,  हंसती हुई कहानियों में चुभने वाले व्यंग्य गढ़े और अपना नायक एक गरीब ईमानदार लेकिन इंसानी फ़ितरतों से कूट कूट कर भरे हुए आम आदमी में तलाशे, ऐसा अक्सर तो नहीं होता! दूरदर्शन पर चाणक्य से प्रसिद्धि पाने वाले डॉ. चंद्रप्रकाश द्धिवेदी की नयी फिल्म 'ज़ेड प्लस' का नायक लुंगी और हवाई चप्पल में साइकिल के पंचर बनाने वाला एक आम आदमी तो  है, पर उसकी कहानी आम बिलकुल नहीं। डॉ. द्धिवेदी फिल्म की शुरुआत में ही साफ़ कर देते हैं, "ऐसा दुनिया की किसी भी डेमोक्रेसी में होना नामुमकिन है".

राजस्थान के फतेहपुर में असलम [आदिल हुसैन] अपनी बीवी हमीदा [मोना सिंह] और माशूका सईदा के साथ मज़े की ज़िंदगी गुज़ार रहा है. जो थोड़ी बहुत परेशानियाँ हैं उनमें उसका पड़ोसी शायर दोस्त हबीब [मुकेश तिवारी] अव्वल नंबर पे आता है, जो खुद सईदा का आशिक़ है और अब असलम से उसकी बिलकुल नहीं बनती। ज़िंदगी रफ़्तार तब पकड़ती है जब सरकार बचाने की मन्नत लिये प्रधानमंत्री [कुलभूषण खरबंदा] फतेहपुर में पीपल वाले पीर बाबा की दरगाह पर चादर चढ़ाने पहुंचते हैं. असलम का उनसे मिलना, अपने पड़ोसी से जान का खतरा होने की बात करना, प्रधानमन्त्री का पड़ोसी से 'पाकिस्तान' का मतलब निकालना और फिर असलम को ज़ेड श्रेणी की सुरक्षा मुहैय्या करवाना, इन सब में आपको कहीं न कहीं राजनीतिक व्यंग्य की बहुत सारी मिसालें मिलेंगी और लगातार गुदगुदाती रहेंगी। खैर कहानी यहां रूकती नहीं और दिलचस्प मोड़ ले लेती है. जाने-अनजाने की ये जेड सुरक्षा धीरे धीरे असलम के जी का जंजाल बन जाती है और इस से निजात पाने की लगातार कोशिश में वो खुद गन्दी राजनीति का शिकार बनने लगता है.

'जेड प्लस' बहुत ही मज़ेदार तरीके से व्यवस्था-तंत्र और राजनीतिक गलियारों की सांठ-गाँठ और समझ-बूझ का मज़ाक बनाती है, साथ ही आम आदमी की बेबसी और नासमझी पर भी खासा व्यंग्य कसती है. फिल्म के एक दृश्य में प्रधानमन्त्री अपने सचिव [के के रैना] को 'पाकिस्तान' को 'पड़ोसी' कहने की हिदायत देते हैं, जो कि राजनीतिक दृष्टि से एक सुरक्षित कदम है. वहीँ असलम के घर को बंकर बनाये बैठे सेना के जवानों का धीरे-धीरे असलम के परिवार के साथ घुलते-मिलते देखना, अच्छा लगता है. फिल्म का एक और मजबूत पक्ष उसका आर्ट-डायरेक्शन और बोलचाल की शैली है जो कहानी को किरदारों से  और किरदारों को माहौल से अलग नहीं होने देती। हालाँकि फिल्म के दूसरे हिस्से में ड्रामा व्यंग्य पर ज्यादा हावी होने लगता है, फिल्म ढीली और सुस्त पड़ने लगती है, साथ ही कहानी बार-बार खुद को दोहराने लगती है, फिर भी कलाकारों का सटीक अभिनय फिल्म को उसकी तमाम कमियों के बावजूद संभाल लेता है.

आदिल हुसैन असलम के किरदार में उभर कर सामने आते हैं. उनका अभिनय सिर्फ किरदार के पहनावे को ही ओढ़ने में यकीन नहीं रखता बल्कि उसे अपने अंदर तक उतार लेता है जैसे आदिल असलम एक ही हों, हालाँकि कहीं कहीं उनका लाऊड हो जाना खलता है. मोना सिंह बखूबी अपनी एक्टिंग की छाप छोड़ जाती हैं ख़ास तौर पर फिल्म के आखिरी हिस्से में. मुकेश तिवारी जमते हैं. संजय मिश्रा पाकिस्तानी आतंकवादी सरगना के रोल में अपनी 'फंस गए रे ओबामा' वाले किरदार को ही दुबारा ज़िंदा करते हैं. कुलभूषण खरबंदा निराश करते हैं. के के रैना सहज हैं, समर्थ हैं.

अंत में, डॉ. चंद्रप्रकाश द्धिवेदी की 'जेड प्लस' उन चन्द फिल्मों में से है जो अब भी सिनेमा को कहानी कहने का एक मज़बूत और कामयाब ज़रिया मानते हैं, न कि सिर्फ तकनीकी समझ की एक गैरजरूरत नुमाइश। देखिये, अगर कुछ अलग-कुछ अच्छा-कुछ सच्चा देखना चाहते हों! [3.5/5]

UNGLI: What a waste of a noble intent! [2/5]

Corruption has now been so widespread in our system and quite an acceptable thing in a sense that we often don’t even try to be judgmental about it. No wonder when the creative brain behind the critically acclaimed RANG DE BASANTI, Rensil D’Silva decides to bring the story of an unusual ‘fight against corruption movement’ on screen again, even he doesn’t try to sound deep, profound and sure about the solution. So, we see a group of young souls coming together to punish the ‘corrupts’ in the most absurd but enjoyable manner, of course to the viewers and not the victims. Despite showing sincerity in the objective, UNGLI stays low, average, mindless and an infertile effort, mainly because of the lack of gravity in the treatment.

A retired old man [S M Zaheer seen in a long time] is forced to make regular visits at the government office to get his hard-earned pension sanctioned as he can’t stand the significance of bribery in the system. An autowallah asks for double-fare as the distance is too short to make big money. And then, there is corruption in the police organization to get preferred profitable postings by paying heavy sum to some illicit third party. All the instances are no new but the punishments set by the new ray of hope fondly called as the ‘Ungli’ gang are sure innovative and dramatically entertaining. Corrupts are made running non-stop for their lives in the sports ground. Some go under trial to eat the money in its most literal sense. And the Mumbai autowallah is sent to Delhi in the rail-cargo with his auto to satisfy his hunger for ‘lamba-bhaada’.  

The ‘Ungli’ gang includes a medical intern [Kangna Ranaut], a crime-journalist [Randeep Hooda], a computer engineer [Neil Bhoopalam] and a pizza-loving muscleman [Angad Bedi] with the new entrance, an expert in kissing stuck in the midway to find out true colors in his personality [Emraan Hashmi]. Meanwhile, the police [Led by Sanjay Dutt playing his age for a change] are all seen treating them as the most dangerous group ever came on this planet. Come on, don’t they have enough celebrity programs to attend and provide security to the most undesirable politicians? Leave these guys alone, as they won’t last long considering their one-dimensional performances and the all uncooked mediocre lines they speak with full intensity. Picture this, “mujhe sudhaarte-sudhaarte, sudhaarne wale bigad gaye” or “Aansuon se sirf whisky dilute hoti hai”. Claps? Mention not, please!

Rensil D’Silva’s UNGLI is also a big fail in its screenplay. You always get confused with the timelines after each cut in the shots. Neha Dhupia playing a TV journalist and the veteran Raza Murad playing the Commissioner of Police come back in a regular interval only to show their disappointment in trying to catch & cover the gang but nothing to call it a success in their kitties as the gang is apparently so smart; which again they aren’t. Performances are equally unremarkable. Sanjay Dutt being the most avoidable to comment and Randeep being the most tolerable of the lot!    

D’Silva’s UNGLI takes huge inspiration from his RANG DE BASANTI in its intention but ends up abusing it in similar ways he gives the title ‘Basanti’ to the booty-shaking girl [Shraddha Kapoor tries her hands] in the most idiotically written item song ‘Dance Basanti’. What a repositioning! And what a waste of a noble intent! [2/5]

Trailer- review of ‪ X- PAST IS PRESENT‬ : All for one and One for All!

Past is present. You are what you have been at all the assorted stages in your life. Each one has contributed and transited some of it to shape up your present. Not only the eventful accomplishments but abortive relationships too! And if it is not just one or two but 10 to be exact, consider yourself a layered project fascinating enough for everyone to experience.

‘X- Past is present’ brings 11 gifted film-enthusiasts at same platform to tell one heaven of a story meant to have their distinguished style representing various illustrious genres in film-making in the most promising manner. A noted filmmaker [Rajat Kapoor of ANKHON DEKHI] meets a mystifying beauty that incidentally makes him revisit the days of vividly practiced past with his 10 ex-girlfriends.

The official trailer sees the girl in present [Aditi Chengappa] trying to shake up and extort reminiscent images from filmmaker’s past and we get introduced to his girlfriends in close-cuts. From the suave & sophisticated Gabriella Schmidt to enigmatic Parno Mitra, Bidita Bag, Neha Mahajan, Richa Shukla, Rii Sen, Piaa Bajpai, unrestrained Radhika Apte, overpowering Huma Qureshi, sensuous Swara Bhaskar and the adolescent Pooja Ruparel of DDLJ (…that makes it 11??).

The dramatic streaks in characters and in the visual treatment on their parts sure forecast an experimental stroke for niche and an engaging flick for the rest. Also coming from the fact that each chapter goes to a different director with a fresh new yet synced approach, ‘X- Past is present’ is inventive enough for an artistic effort to hold your attention but if it is not enough for you, here is the most interesting lot of filmmakers joining in to guarantee. The credit reads Q- the man behind the radical, experimental and unapologetically erotic GANDU, notable film-reviewer and journalist Pratim D. Gupta, Sonam Kapoor starrer AISHA fame Rajshree Ojha, Sudhish Kamat of the impressive GOOD NIGHT GOOD MORNING, Sandeep Mohan, Nalan Kumarsamy, Hemant Gaba, Anu Menon, Abhinav Tiwari, Suparn Verma and the dynamic film-critic Raja Sen .

All said and done, there is a lot to unravel and unlearn about in the plot and in the final product but at the moment of time, ‘X- Past is present’ is a potential innovator to make Indian Cinema proud on any global platform. I hope and wish it breaks all the barriers and refuses to be in the guarded shields of established norms in film-making.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxpEKLcbltY&feature=youtu.be

HAPPY ENDING: The search for a Happy Ending kills a lot, for bad! [2/5]

You don’t have to be a hardcore fan to know the set recipe for any romantic comedy film. Boy meets girl. Both are opposite in every sense. Girl falls for the boy. Boy hates commitment. Heart breaks. Love aches. Girl leaves. Boy misses. Boy seeks. Boy realizes. And then comes the fairly famous ‘Airport’ scene where things apparently fall into their pre-designed place! How hard it could be! But what if you want to break it and mold the same in a complete new pattern? Well, you have to be smart enough to pull it off and not confused even an ounce to ruin the promise and the prospect. Impressive filmmaker duo Raj & DK’s HAPPY ENDING fits in both the scenario equally. And that makes it an irritating mash-up of likeable scenes & enjoyable smart one-liners with futilely overstretched plot & an almost never-ending climax.

Yudi [Saif Ali Khan] is a ‘one book wonder’ writer who hasn’t written any more in last 6 years in short of good ending but knows well when to call for an end in a relationship. Hearing his girl saying those three magical words could cause him signs of losing his confidence to his illustrious stuttering state. His latest break-up status with the all mental & dental overbearing girlfriend [the cutely annoying Kalki] is still ‘complicated’. He couldn’t tell her straight because he didn’t want to hurt her. ‘What a thoughtful jerk!’ one of his ex-girlfriends compliments him.

In a parallel track, the fading writer Yudi has no other option left but to write a superhit romantic comedy film taking so-called ‘scene by scene’ inspirations from Hollywood hits for a Bollywood superstar [Govinda keeps his charms working]. Though his life so far has been one such romantic comedy, Yudi chooses to go around with a budding writer Aanchal [Ileana D’Cruz] to get help and soon lands himself in situations expected from more than a mile! Well, almost!

The film works well at many fronts. Beautiful locations, pictorial cinematography, smart one-liners and Saif Ali Khan back in ‘his’ den. He does hit every chord right portraying a puzzled, commitment-scared flirt dressed in all designer summery cool clothing line with the costliest car on road. He sure looks confident and comfortable as an actor here and that’s much relief after his horrendous HUMSHAKALS act. Kalki marks an electrifying presence the whole time she’s on screen. Ranvir Shorey succeeds in providing some good laughs but it’s Govinda who never misses your attention and love for his expressive mannerism. My favorite subplot includes Preity Zinta playing an understanding, kind and gracious ex-girlfriend of Yudi.   

Film falters big time by reaching nowhere while looking aimlessly for a different recipe of a romantic comedy. You can not compromise with the one you pulled your guns at. That never takes you any close to heroism. And Raj & DK being the whistleblowers in the industry, it feels worse. You can expect any low from Kohlis, Anands and Malhotras of renowned big banners but not from these two. Film starts settling for a convenient, age-old, tried & tested ending after much wandering in the second half. It gets so dreary that the last 20 min seems unbearably long. Yudi mouths a thoughtful line at the end, “One shouldn’t always look for a happy ending. End it wherever you think it should”. I wish the writers & the makers of the film would have taken it seriously. [2/5] 

THE EQUALIZER: Denzel the ‘Dabangg’ steals the show! [3/5]

No, he doesn’t steal money from unscrupulous rich sharks to help the needy like Salman’s character does in KICK. Though he does have a sobbing back story but he hardly bothers to exchange it for your sympathies unlike Aamir’s character does in DHOOM 3. Also he is not seeking any age-long revenge of some personal loss as Shah Rukh’s character does in HAPPY NEW YEAR but when it comes to walk away serenely in slow-motion from a massive explosion, Denzel Washington sure gives all the Bollywood superstars a run for their money. He has done it in MAN ON FIRE before but in Antoine Fuqua’s action-entertainer THE EQUALIZER, he is outstandingly massy, entertaining & the best bet for your money. I have clapped numerous times before for his unparalleled performances in CRY FREEDOM, PHILADELPHIA, and THE GREAT DEBATORS but this one made me whistle for him like most front liners do for their bollywood idols.

THE EQUALIZER is a delight for any action-junkie, who dies to spend his evenings with lots of blood-shed, breathless action and thrilling hunt-down, cat & mouse sequences between the evil and the fearless. Denzel plays Robert McCall, a mysterious loner with fabricated identity and a darker past to deal with. When a slightly familiar prostitute [Chloe Grace Moretz] gets beaten up hard by a Russian sex-trafficking mob, the man in disguise decides to take them down one by one including Teddy [Marton Csokas] a razor-sharp, smart and cold-blooded right hand to the crime-chief.

Fuqua directs well the portions of showing the layered personality of Denzel’s character in the film. Be it his impulse action with setting up deadlines in his stop-watch and then counting it soon after finishing the task or the way he chose to carry his own tea-dip to his regular café and sit there reading books his wife has left to him; the character is blessed with a fool-proof sketch in black & white. Watch out for the scene where McCall & Teddy meet for the first time and both try hard to outsmart other. Similarly, the confrontation scene between the two in café where both thrust to take down the other emotionally & psychologically is one of the most thrilling! Though the climax is overtly stretched; for the most part, THE EQUALIZER is an adrenalin rush.

Denzel is seen and applauded before for his gallantry appearances in many action thrillers but the kind of intensity and the conviction he brings with such ease is absolute pleasurable experience. His all plucky character played on screen is very similar to our bollywood heroes are trying lately with the current obsession for the 100 Cr club. He can be seen taking on a bunch of goons with guns at one go but never looks unfocussed & baffled even for once. Chloe Grace Moretz doesn’t have much to play except a couple of scenes striking enough to notice her talent. Marton Csokas gives Denzel a tough competition in terms of the role-building exercise.

Overall, THE EQUALIZER is an enjoyable action-trip made even better & easier to have your time spent with trusted performance by Denzel. Never underestimate this new ‘Dabangg’ in town! He’s more refined and sophisticated version who can bring some sense to ‘whatever happens just happens for the sake of it’! Watch it on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and you won’t complain! [3/5]          

गर्म हवा : बंटवारे के दर्द में जीती एक ज़िंदा फिल्म! ज़रूर देखिये!!

१९४७ का एक दिन. आगरा में. सलीम मिर्ज़ा [बलराज साहनी] आज फिर किसी अपने को पाकिस्तान जाने वाली ट्रेन में बिठा आये हैं. उनके जूते के कारखाने में काम करने वाले उन्ही के कौम के ज्यादातर कारीग़र पहले ही पाकिस्तान जा चुके हैं. स्टेशन से कारखाने आते वक़्त इक्के वाले का बयान भी दिलचस्प है , "सुना है पाकिस्तान में ऊंट गाड़ी चलती है, अब घोड़े की जगह ऊंट हाँकेंगे तो बाप-दादा की रूह तौबा न कर लेगी हमसे". सभी को लगता है मुसलमान आज नहीं तो कल पाकिस्तान ही जायेंगे। सलीम मिर्ज़ा के मौकापरस्त बड़े भाई भी पहले तो बड़ी शिद्दत से अपने आप को हिंदुस्तान के बचे-खुचे मुसलमानों का सरपरस्त साबित करने में लगे रहे, ये कहते हुए की अब अगर उनके लिए कोई है तो ऊपर खुदा और नीचे वो ख़ुद.…पर अब उन्हें भी पाकिस्तान की ओर रुख करने में हिचक नहीं रही. 

१९४७ का एक और दिन. आगरा में ही. बड़े भाई के पाकिस्तान से वापस आने की उम्मीद दम तोड़ चुकी है. आमिना [गीता] अब भी काज़िम से निकाह का ख़ाब आँखों में लिए बैठी है. पुश्तैनी हवेली को कब्ज़े में लेने के लिए सरकारी सम्मन आया है. बूढ़ी दादी को समझ नहीं आता, "मैंने तो दो ही बेटे ज़ने थे, ये मुआ  तीसरा हक़दार कौन आ गया?". हालात की तरह कारखाने की हालत भी माकूल नहीं है. बैंक से लोन लेने में भी कम जहानत नहीं झेलनी पड़ती। मिर्ज़ा सच ही तो कहते हैं, "जो भागे हैं उनकी सज़ा उनको क्यों मिले जो न तो भागे हैं न ही भागना चाहते हैं?". 

१९४७ का एक आम दिन. वहीँ, आगरा में. मिर्ज़ा के बड़े साहेबजादे भी पाकिस्तान जा चुके हैं. छोटे साहबज़ादे [फ़ारूख़ शेख़] बी ए पास करने के बावज़ूद नौकरी के लिए जूते घिस रहे हैं. आमिना के ख़ाब एक बार फिर चकनाचूर हो चुके हैं, इस बार के मुजरिम शमशाद [जलाल आग़ा] हैं. सिन्धी सेठ अजमानी साब [ए के हंगल] भले आदमी हैं पर कारख़ाने को बचाना मुश्किल है. आज एक इक्के वाले ने, हिन्दू होगा शायद, आठ आने की जगह दो रूपये मांगे, हिन्दू मुसलमान की बात कर रहा था. मुंशी जी ने सही सुनाई, "हिन्दू मुसलमान करना है तो इक्का छोड़ो, लीडरी करो". करें भी क्या? नई-नई आज़ादी है, सब अपने-अपने हिसाब से मतलब निकाल रहे हैं.

१९४७ का एक ख़ास दिन. सलीम मिर्ज़ा टूट चुके हैं. उन्हें एक दफ़ा जासूसी के इलज़ाम में गिरफ्तार भी किया जा चुका है. हालाँकि अदालत ने बरी कर दिया है  पर लोगों को कौन समझाए? उन्हें भी लगने लगा है उनकी कौम के लोगों का मुस्तक़बिल पाकिस्तान में ही रौशन है. आज वो खुदी को छोड़ने स्टेशन जा रहे हैं. ये क्या? गली के उस मोड़ पे कैसा जुलूस है ये? क्या फिर कोई दंगे-फसाद की तहरीर लिखने की सस्ती कोशिश में है? नहीं. आज ये भीड़ कौमों की नहीं, काम पाने के हक़ के लिए नारे लगा रही है. नौजवान हाथों में ये इश्तेहार गुजरे कल का नहीं, आने वाली इक नयी सुबह- इक नयी आब-ओ-हवा की इबारत बुलंद कर रहे हैं. मिर्ज़ा खुद ब खुद अपने साहबज़ादे के पीछे पीछे भीड़ का हिस्सा बनने और बनते जा रहे हैं. 

इस्मत चुगताई की कहानी पर बनी एम एस सथ्यू की 'गर्म हवा' दस्तावेज है बंटवारे के दर्द की. बलराज साहनी साब की इन्तेहाई संज़ीदा अदाकारी, कैफ़ी आज़मी साब की चुभती-कचोटती-समेटती कलम, उस्ताद बहादुर खान साब की रूहानी मौसिकी और ख़्वाजा सलीम चिश्ती की दरगाह पर फिल्मायी गयी कव्वाली, 'गर्म हवा' को कुछ इस तरह आपके सामने परोसती है आप अपने आप को बहुत देर तक फिल्म से अलग नहीं रख पाते. सह-कलाकारों में शौक़त आज़मी, गीता, जलाल आग़ा, फ़ारूख़ शेख़ और ए के हंगल साब बेहतरीन हैं. ईशान आर्या साब का कैमरा एक पल को भी आपको आगरे से दूर नहीं ले जाता पर उस दौरान, पूरे हिन्दुस्तान के हाल और हालात बखूबी बयान कर देता है. ज़रूर देखिये, सिनेमाघरों में! ऐसे मौके बहुत कम ही दुबारा आते हैं, ऐसी फिल्में भी!!   

BOYHOOD: When cinema gives it back to life! Worth it!! [4/5]

‘Slice-of-life’ or ‘Coming-of-age’ were just some random words until BOYHOOD happens to you. This ‘Richard Linklater of BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET & BEFORE MIDNIGHT fame’ movie is anything but the most evolved & detailed cinematic experiment with human emotions portrayed ever on screen. It’s been done in such inventive and intelligent manner that you hardly look at it as a fabricated fictional product of some creative mind. In here, life happens like it does in real. Things are never dramatic but smooth, slowly but surely moving and coherent.

When was the last time you visited your old days through a big bulky family photo album or home videos on VHS or Hi8? You get flashes of plenty moments rejoiced with family all these years. That is something like a scattered version if putting them on a timeline but with BOYHOOD, it is like being gifted to experience someone else’s life in the wide span of 12 years and by the time you’re done with it, you look back and find every piece of it having likeness of your life. Life is beautiful, really!

As his code of performance, Richard gives us a 12-year long journey of a regular American family but doesn’t change its main cast and shoots the same cast for over 12 years in a row to give us an ample projection of falling in love and growing older & wiser with each one in the cast. So, Mason- a 6 year old [Ellar Coltrane] inquisitive son to a single mother and a visiting divorcee father [Director’s favorite Ethan Hawke] becomes an 18-year old youngster flavoring the sweetness of first love and dryness of real-life complications. His miserably disconnected relationship with her much of a controlling sister has sure come a long way for a quite mutual affiliation. The mother [played by Patricia Arquette] now, shows off more wrinkles on her face and fatty ageing lines on others. The father has added more grey shaded hair in his magnetic persona. And in all these, there are moments of being in love with life in the most natural way such as behavioral changes, physical transformations, emotional mood swings, growing liabilities, glowing feelings of the first love, wisdom of reality and historical timelines in synced with them.

Watch out for the torment Mason goes through while losing his long hair streaks for the first time. It has happened to us all. The sibling rivalry that slowly & casually rolls into a more understanding temperament. Leaving behind a mother with teary eyes when departing for higher education or enjoying the firsts of adulthood with friends, BOYHOOD touches every inch of your life between 6-18 years. Of the performances, seeing Coltrane ageing beautifully from a poor innocent introvert kid to an inhibited but confident young man is an experience itself. Same goes with Lorelai Linklater playing his sister though the plot doesn’t give her equal space to focus more on Mason. Arguette wins accolades for her strong character who never takes a back step in life despite quite a few bad choices made in hurry. Hawke charms with his wit and positive vibes through his lovely character of a responsibly active & concerned parent.     

To sum up, Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD is a cinematic experience worth every single penny you spend on it, though I would not say the same for the length of the film. 2 hour 45 minutes could make you restless but when it is all about something never seen before, one should not be much bothered about that little ignorable flaw! Go for it. [4/5].         

KILL/DIL: Blame it on Yashraj for another letdown! [2/5]

The all melodramatic, stylish and formulaic 70’s has always been a pet for Bollywood enthusiasts. The obsession is so sky-scraping we have made almost every film from that era a classic in today’s times. A gruesomely awesome villain, heroes with undying attitude & emotional story to back-up their instinct in present, sensational beauties ready to show off their best of designer outfits & born-leniency to step in a song & dance sequence at any given time!

Well, all that could work in sync if smartly put in the mold of a tout script and engaging screenplay but it is like asking for much as for as Shaad Ali’s KILL/DIL is concerned.  So, it turns out to be an average action-potboiler with a clear signage of some good deadpan humor, laudable performances of a couple from the cast, stylish looks and scenic camerawork getting wasted for most. Even Gulzar saab’s poetic commentary all the way through different segments and stages in the plot could not lesser any of your displeasures from the film.

Dev [The all bouncy, jovial & animated Ranveer Singh] and Tutu [Ali Zafar, cool as ever] are two best of buddies raised to be cold-blooded sharp-shooters by their foster-father in crime world Bhaiyaji [Govinda back to win hearts]. Their Maar-keting job is paying them well to do all the debauchery deeds until Dev meets Disha [Parineeti in probably one of her most trivial roles], born & brought in the plot to give a new Disha i.e. direction to Dev’s life. No prizes for guessing, the heart in love creates havoc in the promising plot & in quite enticing lives of both the sharpshooters. The buoyancy in characters gets killed brutally by the saddening melodrama.

This doesn’t mean KILL/DIL to be a complete wash-out. Shaad Ali’s average story gets constant boost up from the pokerfaced wit in the dialogues and some of the intentionally-designed elements in the screenplay. In the very first scene, you see a political leader approaching in a car and the number-plate reads ‘Neta’ [Leader in Hindi]. The pun is bold & hard to get unnoticed. Similarly, there is a sequence where a jeweler gets into his regular bargain-mode ignoring the fact that he currently is at gunpoint of his possible abductors. & how can you overlook a Nirupa Roy portrait on the wall, as the founder of a life-insurance company!

KILL/DIL sees the comeback sort of the yesteryear mass-entertainer Govinda in his first outing as the antagonist of a film. He plays the Godfather to Ranveer & Ali and does it with more emotions than just playing the routine villain. He can show off his moist eyes as well as the iniquity in the nature. He talks less but worthy, he laughs good and scary and dances too. Isn’t it enough to celebrate! Ranveer is known for investing loads of energy like a powerhouse. He does exactly same here too. With Ali’s all more unruffled & at ease presentation and some of the best nippy one-liners, his portrayal is pleasantly vivacious. Parineeti does her part well but doesn’t really amaze you much.

On the whole, Shaad Ali’s KILL/DIL could have been better if persistent and confident about its experiment with styling the age-old sub-standard plot as a shinier-slicker & tighter entertainer. It had glimpses and hints but that’s that. For the rest, it is a regular movie-going experience just to kill your time and not the appetite for good entertainment. Home-viewing could be a different story altogether. My quest for a story-department in Yashraj Films hasn’t ended yet! [2/5] 

THE SHAUKEENS: A bad day for comedy! [1.5/5]

Indian men are trained to read between the lines in a way best suited for their ambitions, especially if it has anything to do with women & sex. If a girl throws a generous smile at you, there’s a definite ‘hidden chance’ there to try your dirty luck.

So, when a free-spirited girl living at her own says she will do anything to meet her Bollywood-crush Akshay Kumar, it is more than enough ‘signal’ for 3 true Indian-at-heart, lecherously sleazy old men to run a cut-throat competition between them. Obviously, the girl was nowhere near the ‘understood’ connotation of her enthusiastic announcement and one of the contestants could only get a peck on his bald head and the worth-dying for title of ‘Rockstor’ in return. In the very next scene, he’s seen sharing the all made-up juicy stories of his false-success in the act and getting paid with what she has promised. Finding it funny? Shameful, I would say!

TERE BIN LADEN fame Abhishek Sharma returns with remaking Basu Chatterji’s cutely titillating comedy SHAUKEEN. The new version is called THE SHAUKEENS and the Utpal Dutt-Ashok Kumar-A K Hangal trio is replaced with Anupam Kher-Annu Kapoor & Piyush Mishra. Undeniably, the cuteness is killed by the crudeness and the cheap sex-humor.

Story revolves around three aging licentious, lusty and sex-starving men from Delhi hitting girls of all ages around them. Lali [Anupam Kher] has a wife at home, clearly disinterested in sex and busy ensuring her place in heaven with heavy religious duties. Pinky [Piyush Mishra] is a masala-king having no spices in his life as his wife had already passed away. KD [Annu Kapoor] is a wild-untamable bachelor by choice. Together they plan a trip to Mauritius meant to calm their guilty pleasures and to their best; it is a gipsy-sexy-carefree girl Ahana [Lisa Haydon] who welcomes them as the caretaker of their rented accommodation.

Keeping these 3 extensively indecent, strong-minded & unshakable filthy men’s intentions in mind, I felt good for other girls on the beaches of Mauritius as they looked only focused to one. Film constantly carries scenes of forcefully hugging & caressing the girl and even literally begging her to wear bikni in one particular scene. Following the current statistics of rise in eve-teasing & sexual harassment of women in India, these men tick all the boxes to be considered for serious sentence but here, they are not only calculated funny but also deliberately get blessed with stupid justification of their insufferable behavior- the loneliness and a good harmless heart within. How ridiculous!

Thank God, the producer is here to save some of his film. Akshay Kumar plays himself and intrepidly jokes on himself ranging from doing same things in every film of his, being compared with wooden furniture in terms of his acting ability [Heartless Critics, I say] and his ‘not really’ but witty wish to win national awards someday. His tracks in the film are similarly intertwined like any parallel comedy tracks in South Indian Masala entertainers. On the performances, Annu Kapoor plays it cool and the most confident about his part. Piyush Mishra shows faith on his theatrics more. Anupam Kher is hammy for the most.

At the end, THE SHAUKEENS dies a regrettable death despite having promising names like Tigmanshu Dhulia as the writer and Abhishek Sharma as the director. Things do get worse on a bad day. It is one such for many, including the viewers and the reviewers. Avoid it! [1.5/5] 

BIG HERO 6: A kid's film, for adults! [3.5/5]

Animation flicks were never really on my list of favorites. No offence to the hardcore lovers but for a genre itself, I don’t find myself very fascinated about it! So I had just one title as the exception [The tremendously endearing & emotional WALL.E] until I happened to push myself for Disney’s BIG HERO 6. And now I have got the second to accompany WALL.E! BIG HERO 6 is a heartwarming, entertaining, engaging and completely enjoyable ride even adults will love in equal measures like kids do.

And by the way, what’s with these lesser known superhero comic-characters? First, James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and now Don Hall-Chris Williams’ BIG HERO 6! Being a complete stranger to your knowledge & anticipatory mental mechanism, they come fearlessly, keep it low, act smartly and win your hearts marginally with their simpleton but relatable multicolored individualities. This time, it is a giant, pliable and soft from inside and outside robot named Baymax designed for healthcare assistance. Baymax goes through severe upgrading procedure after his creator gets killed in an unfortunate accident and his new possessor-cum-friend is Hiro- the younger brother and a sharp mind in robotics who wants the retribution at any price.

Despite being a visible victim of ‘not so surprising’ regular storyline, BIG HERO 6 works extremely fine just because it finds its heart in the right place and a superhero armed with complete compassion, warmth & love for mankind. Baymax can fly real high with blazing flames at the other end just as good as Tony Stark’s robotic suit does in IRON MAN. Baymax can punch a huge hole in the wall with force equally relative to Hulk’s in THE AVENGERS but what make him totally amiable are his simplicity, cuteness and delightful presence. He can make your heart bleed too but that’s something you should uncover while watching it.

And then, there is a brigade of young robotics geniuses mastered in some or other scientific inventions used as powered weapon to fight the invincible looking evil. Film is filled with delightful moments that allow you to celebrate constant smile on your face and some natural laud laughs in between. For instance, the customary handshake action between Baymax & Hiro is the most adorable one without registering any single fail. Scenes depicting emotional bonding between the brothers are subtly done but for an impactful after-effect. The action sequences are sharp, crisp, fast and do throw a lot of comical punches on you in midst of its well-executed and delicately designed action parts. The climax is absolutely at par with any superhero movie you remember right away.

BIG HERO 6 does not have a star-face to ease your catch-22 situation of whether to go for it or not but you will definitely take away one with you back home after leaving the theater. Baymax has potential to meet any of your expectations from any superhero with a lot cuter-sweeter and charming nature to admire. There is no viable reason why you shouldn’t take your kids to BIG HERO 6. It is a film meant for kids but you will never regret any minute spent with it in the theater. [3.5/5] 

RANG RASIYA: One of the most hurried, confusing and uneventful biopics! [2/5]

The fact that even today more than a billion people worship Indian Gods in pictures painted originally by the ace painter Raja Ravi Varma in 19^th century, India; alone is a promising motivation to go for Ketan Mehta’s RANG RASIYA. There is also an interesting episode not known to many that Raja Ravi Varma once enthusiastically donated funds to Dada Saheb Phalke as token of encouragement to go ahead with his spirit of making moving pictures. Still, RANG RASIYA turns out to be one of the most hurried, confusing and uneventful biopics made in Bollywood.

Based on Ranjit Desai’s novel on the most fascinating Indian artist, RANG RASIYA is a film that tries to be bold but only in projection and not in intention. The disclaimer itself at the very start declares that the film is not based on true events and any resemblance to anyone dead or alive is purely coincidental. And you are making a biopic! What sort? Only God knows. Film hurriedly moves from one to another event in the life of Varma like Mr. Mehta is only interested in playing ‘touch & go’ but things behave differently whenever there is a sequence of painter’s physical participation with his muse. Mehta suddenly is reminded to bring depth, serenity and artistic satisfaction to explore as much as he could.   

Film’s another failure is the baffling screenplay where the judge at the court is named Richards but speaks Hindustani full of Urdu words. This is never a justice to the art but the artist as the actor here is the veteran theatre artist Tom Alter. Aren't we done with him? Offering him roles respective of his skin color and tonal quality! Same goes with the most of the casting; starting from foreigners talking in infuriating Hindi pronunciations to the lead actress [played by Nandna Sen] trying to impress you with her best of emotions but a Bengali touch in the intonation kills most of it. and if you look at the lines they are given to articulate, you would notice that very conveniently one uses English words or popular Urdu words in the middle of all the ‘Sanskrit driven’ Hindi sentences.

The biggest relief is Randeep Hooda, cast as Raja Ravi Varma. He’s the blessing in disguise for film. He’s the only one looking more interested and attached to the film than the director. Nandna Sen plays the part well, mostly when there is not much to emote. In rest, there are a dozen of small roles done by known faces but most are typical with no signs of any surprise element. Music is strictly average, so are the dialogues. Camerawork is efficient but the unevenness in the settings is too visible to trust the time zone.

Overall, it is a story that needed to be told but in a more in-depth impression and a lot more authenticity in the execution. The story of a defiant artist who dared to gift Indian Gods a face and a line of art accessible to common people breaking all the barriers planted by religious extremists, is anyways pertinent even in today’s much liberated times. Hadn’t Mr. Mehta taken the liberty to focus on intimate moments between the painter and the muse and to at least the intense confrontation between him and the social establishments, film would have been a worthy tribute. Watch it on Home-video! It will bring back glimpses & hints of episodes from some good old Doordarshan Serials, at the max! [2/5]

INTERSTELLAR: Out of this World! Nolan does it again!! [4.5/5]

The world is changing. And it’s changing for the worst. Crops are dying. Food-crisis is taking over the interests in technology. “People don’t really want engineers but farmers” as one powerfully states. Throwing away hefty share of funds in scientific research & space missions are no more concern of priority. So, NASA is forced to go underground.  Human race has the fear to lose its existence, sooner than we believe. One of most intelligent minds at the premise [the veteran Michael Caine] opens up, “We are not meant to save the world. We are meant to leave it”.

Decoding Christopher Nolan’s mesmeric & equally mystifying world of gigantic prospects irrespective of time & place [mostly space in this case] is the trickiest job for any common movie-watcher like me. So coming up with a proclamation like ‘I am fully done with it”, is nothing but a steep example of audaciousness! I wouldn’t dare! An Ex-NASA pilot Cooper [Played by Matthew McConaughey] is now a farmer with two of his kids & an old father to deal with. Some strange events and his exploratory eyes to see things in their scientific orientation lands him to a space-mission responsibly designed to locate possible rescue-stations in outer world to reinstate mankind in space-colonies. And then starts the tremendously amazing expedition filled with moments of fear, panicky situations, killing betrayals and affecting insights about life.

INTERSTELLAR is a 2hour 50min long canvas of a highly competent & thoroughly manipulative mind called Nolan. He cleverly makes you resting with the most vividly done human emotions in a very enigmatic way and then knocks you off with the layered plots revealing in the most outrageous manner. No wonder if in the first half, you only wait for the ‘Nolan-effect’ [earned authoritatively after the extravagant thriller ‘INCEPTION’] to come and squash & squeeze you from left, right and center, the second half does the needful in more ways than you would imagine. With an astonishing camerawork and persuasive background score by Hans Zimmer, INTERSTELLAR takes you through galaxies, planets with extreme climates, grasping black holes and radiant light patterns falling over various space-objects like some ravishing fireworks in the sky.

INTERSTELLAR fills you with a magnanimous feeling of being in a celestial world that is enticing to the core, unbelievably real and assertively sharp. Travelling through different time-zones and the race against time to save humanity creates an effervescent, tensed yet disturbingly calm mood to be felt much longer. McConaughey’s rigidly in skin characterization gives film a strong reason to watch. Watch him going through the video messages from his family on earth over the period of 23 long years or him leading the space-expedition with total conviction, he dons the hat of a skilled performer in both. Anne Hathaway as Cooper’s fellow explorer doesn’t impress much though it is not a wasted performance. Jessica Chastain in the role of Cooper’s daughter shines. Matt Damon’s is a shocking surprise best left undisclosed much.

With a much longer duration, your past gratifying tryst with Alfonso Cuaron’s masterstroke GRAVITY and the astronomical usage of science terminology, film might incite killing impatience in you but just have faith in Chris Nolan and his successive idea to shock, thrill & stun you, despite all odds! INTERSTELLAR is hugely rewarding, considerably relevant, fearlessly inventive, sensitively thrilling and the best you can do with the storytelling and technology amalgamation! Book your Tickets…now! [4.5/5]      

FURY: In real, War hardly does any good. For the film, it does great! [4/5]

“Ideals are peaceful. History is violent.”

Writer-director David Ayer’s war-drama FURY is an on-site experiment on how war inhumanly takes it all belonging to the human life and still, could make you feel heroic at the end…with its two major participants of diverse psychological establishments. Fondly named as Wardaddy in the film, Brad Pitt plays a US Army veteran in World War II. He’s been somehow busy killing Germans through all of it and the home is now his armed tank marked as ‘Fury’.

Things get harder for him when a fresh new recruit joins him with certainly no experience in the war-field. For Norman, played by Logan Lerman what matters the most is the sense of being righteous in whatever one does. In his own words, he is a soldier whose conscience is still intact. ‘FURY’ sees the casualties of war through the perspectives of both, getting concluded in a much wider panoramic view of life getting celebrated and survivors/fighters being christened as the ‘Heroes’.

FURY is a well-directed, authentically executed, visually unsettling, gut-wrenching war movie that believes not in taking sides but in transporting you to the vicinity of piled-up dead bodies, smells of air filled with gunpowder and explosives, taste of blood dripping over the face and everything else a soldier goes through mentally and physically in any war. Just as we repeatedly see the caterpillar tracks of the tank crushing mangled bodies and blast-wrecks on its way, film too crushes a lot in your inner self. Realistically done war action sequences are the big differentiators here, from the regular ‘highly relied on visual effects’ movies! You feel the pain and the coarseness of war in a larger and true essence.

FURY connects to you also because of its totally consistent and convincing humanly characters and the performers just getting it right while presenting it on screen. Shia LaBeouf surprises as an interestingly ‘holier-than-thou’ God-fearing gunner having Bible in his hands even in the worst state of affairs. Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal create most of the laughter pieces with their amusing enactments. Lerman as the newly enlisted fresher thrives in communicating the dilemma of his inner conscience. In his inhibitions at the first and transformation later into a more vigorous fighter, he holds your attention with his balanced act.

Finally, it is Brad Pitt the film finds a shoulder in to rest on. Watch him forcing Norman to perform his first kill on the warfront or leading his troop by example at every single spot. He sure wears the character with definite conviction and distinct shades in the persona like his own skin. Pitt has played something like this earlier in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS but this one is more believable & less theatrical. At the end, FURY celebrates the complexities of war in a very authentic manner and considering the recent downpour of VFX driven war-films, it is a surprise you must visit. War hardly does any good, in real. For the film, it does great! [4/5]