BADLAPUR: Good is good, bad is better! [4/5]

Finally! The age-long standard formula for a successful Bollywood revenge film gets thrashed, whipped and slashed heartlessly by Sriram Raghavan’s dark, bold and gutsy BADLAPUR. The happy & happening world of our hero is shattered while the evil trying to execute one of his unlawful acts and now, the traumatized victim is all gritty to punish the doers. Sounds household? Well, it does but don’t go easy on this as the road ahead from here is anything taken before in Bollywood. BADLAPUR is unconventional, exceptional and incomparable in its league.

It’s been 15 years; Raghu [the unforeseen shades of charming Varun Dhawan] once your regular boy next door is obstinately trying his luck to stumble on one of the murderers of his family. The other partner in crime Liak [the show-stealer Nawazuddin Siddiqui] is already serving 20-year term. An NGO activist informs Raghu that Laik is dying of cancer and needs his forgiveness to taste the free air for the rest of his life. Raghu is unlike our heroes with heart and is even more focused than villains in our films used to be. He doesn’t blow up hideouts of the villain. He hammers on their mental stature. In one of the incontestable situations, he forces his opponent [Vinay Pathak] to let him sleep with his wife [Radhika Apte]. The wife is made producing fake sexual sounds behind the doors and the husband is seen dying in humiliation.

BADLAPUR is an enjoyable and inventive mix of such brutal humor with amusing action but the film gets a new dimension in the climax. The villain ticks off the hero for cold-bloodedly killing his partner. ‘You have gone mad. Go, see a doctor’ he suggests sympathetically. Film also raises the question that how far one would go for revenge? And what after it’s done? The other astounding subplot is the heartfelt romantic track between Laik and his sex-worker girlfriend Jhumli [Huma Qureshi]; where the lover loves to hear ‘dirty talks’ his flame masters in.    

Sriram Raghavan takes forward all the expectations his ‘EK HASINA THI’ and ‘JOHNNY GADDAR’ has built in cinema-lovers all over India. BADLAPUR too constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat with the riveting drama taking a new turn every time you blink your eyes. The rawness in characters and in the characteristics of the scene never misses the opportunity to surprise you. Watch out for the brilliantly visualized and set first static shot of the film. It’s your regular dull day in apparently uncrowded market and as a viewer; you really don’t see it coming.

BADLAPUR is a film celebrated most for its casting and worthy performances from every one listed. Yami Gautam looks ravishing and does succeed in making your heart bleed in those ‘not many’ scenes. Ashwini Kalsekar as the private detective leaves an impression she’s known for. Pratima Kannan is remarkably good so is Vinay Pathak. Radhika Apte plays it effectively while playing a convinced wife who can go any extend to save her husband. I have always maintained that Kumud Mishra is an eye-candy treat to see that something really sparkling in him. Huma continues to entice the screen with her mystical looks and presence. Divya Dutta is another talent who never fails.  And last but not the least, the Varun Dhawan-Nawazuddin duo! Where the balanced-than-ever-before Varun surprises with his new find scheming eyes and calculated smile, Nawaz takes your breath away with his gifted chameleon-like ability to throw on you an all new shade in his character one after the other.

To rest my case, Raghavan’s BADLAPUR is a smartly bricked film that blurs the line between your regular perception about good and bad, and does it so beautifully you find yourself in a tight spot as which side you are and which side you should be at the end of day. Watch out for Nawazuddin’s deliciously evil performance and the unconventional route it dares to take! A must-watch!! [4/5] 

डेढ़ इश्क़िया: मिज़ाज कातिलाना, अंदाज़ शायराना! उम्दा!! [4/5]

फिल्म के एक अहम सीन में, जब दबंग विधायक जाँ मुहम्मद [विजयराज अपने निहायत ही जाने-पहचाने अंदाज़ में], जिन्हें नवाब बनना-दिखना-लगना-कहलाना पसंद है, और उसके गुर्गों का सामना खालू [नसीरूद्दीन शाह] और बब्बन [अरशद वारसी] से होता है...दोनों ही गुट एक दूसरे को पिस्तौल के निशाने पर रख लेते हैं! मुश्किल ये है की अब पिस्तौल पहले कौन हटाये? इसी पेशोपेश में सुबह हो जाती है! अगर आप समझ पायें कि कहानी लख़नऊ के आस-पास की है, जहाँ की तहज़ीब और तमीज़ 'पहले आप-पहले आप' में रची-बसी है तो बहुत मुश्किल नहीं है अभिषेक चौबे की लज्ज़तदार कॉमेडी थ्रिलर 'डेढ़ इश्क़िया' का लुत्फ़ उठाना!

'डेढ़ इश्क़िया' उन चंद फिल्मों में से है जिसकी ख़ूबसूरती जिस शिद्दत से कलम से निकलती है, उसी बख़ूबी पर्दे पे भी रंग लाती है! फ़िल्म आपको एक ऐसी दुनिया में ले जाती है जहाँ के मिज़ाज कातिलाना, किरदार गुस्ताख़ और तबियत शायराना है। उर्दू महज़ लफ़्ज़ों तक नहीं रुकती, हवाओं और फिज़ाओं में रूह की तरह बेपरवाह बहती है। पिछली बार ऐसा कुछ तेवर आपने तिगमांशु धुलिया की 'साहब बीवी और गैंगस्टर' में महसूस किया होगा। सुनकर या पढ़कर अगर आपको लग रहा हो, ये एक बीते दौर की पुरानी फ़िल्म है तो आप एक बार फिर गलत हैं। अभिषेक चौबे जिस तरह फ़िल्म को एक अलग अंदाज़ से अपने बिंदास ह्यूमर और बेबाक किरदारों के साथ परोसते हैं, फ़िल्म आपको ना सिर्फ बाँधे रखती है नयेपन का भी पूरा एहसास कराती है! 

खालू [नसीर साब] पे अब उमर असर दिखाने लगी है पर जवान दिल के साथ वो अभी भी महमूदाबाद रियासत की बेगम पारा [बेइंतिहाई खूबसूरत माधुरी] का शायराना शौहर बनने की होड़ से खुद को पीछे नहीं रख पाता! ऐसे ही एक और नकली नवाब हैं विजयराज जो एक क़ैद शायर [मनोज पाहवा] की मदद से बेगम के दिल और रियासत दोनों पर काबिज़ होना चाहते हैं। जल्दी ही ये सारी कवायद परत-दर-परत साज़िशों और किरदारों के बदलते अक्स का नमूना बन जाती है...और फिर शुरू होता ही दौर, दिलचस्प हादसों का जिनकी भनक आपको कतई नहीं लगती! खुराफाती बब्बन [अरशद] और बेगम की हमराज़ मुनिया [हुमा कुरैशी] भी इस सारी जद्द-ओ-जेहद का हिस्सा हैं।

फिल्म की जान सिर्फ कहानी ही नहीं है, विशाल भारद्वाज के मजेदार डायलॉग- बशीर बद्र साब की शायरी- खूबसूरत सिनिमेटोग्रफी और किरदारों का शानदार अभिनय फिल्म को एक अलग मुकाम पर ले जाता है। जहाँ एक-एक फ्रेम आपको दीवार पे सजी तस्वीरों का गुमान कराती है, किरदारों के ज़बानी इज़हार चेहरे पे मुस्कुराहट बिखेर देते हैं, वहीं फिल्म का स्क्रीनप्ले बहुत ही संजीदा तरीके से आपको उस मौहाल के एकदम करीब ले जाता है। बेगम के कमरे में बजता ग्रामोफ़ोन, उस पर बेगम अख्तर की ठुमरी 'हमरी अटरिया पे आओ जी', शायराना जलसे में मशहूर शायर नवाज़ देवबंदी की मौजूदगी...यहाँ कुछ भी बेढंगा, बेवजह नहीं है! फिल्म के आखिर में, बेगम अख्तर की ग़ज़ल 'वो जो हम में तुम में करार था' और उस पे फिल्माया गया शूटआउट सीन लाजवाब है. इस तरह का तजुर्बा हमें अक्सर टोरंटीनो की फिल्मों में देखने को मिलता है।

आखिर में सिर्फ इतना ही, 'डेढ़ इश्क़िया' 'इश्क़िया' जितनी मजेदार या मज़ाकिया भले ही ना हो, सूरत और सीरत में उस से कहीं बेहतर फिल्म है। काफी वक़्त बाद, एक ऐसी हिंदुस्तानी फिल्म जिसमें उर्दू को एक वाजिब तवज़्ज़ो अता की गयी है। समझ में आती हो तो बेशक़ देखनी चाहिये, नहीं आती हो फिर भी देखिये! [४/५]  

D-DAY: drought of a good thriller still haunts Bollywood [2.5/5]

Every time a terrorist attack happens in any part of our country, the conversation among common people & the ‘on serious note’ panel discussions on TV get heated with mostly unrequited-unresolved demand for the exile of the most wanted criminal, reportedly residing now in one of the posh cities of our neighboring country.

We all have wanted that much-awaited extradition for ages, and God only knows if that would be possible ever in the future but for now, Nikhil Advani’s sincerely executed yet flawed-Bollywood at heart-taut thriller of high promises D-DAY offers a ‘dream come true’ fictional story line, largely getting built up on ‘would have been-should have been’ conditions applied.

Taking cues from real incidents, in-depth functioning of intelligence agencies & the earnest psyche of undercover agents, where an impressive first half suggests it being an intelligent, well researched, on real locations espionage drama with four Indian secret agents starting off their mission to get Goldman [the man in pink shades modeled on the Dawood Ibrahim, played by immensely likeable Rishi Kapoor] back to India, the second half pointlessly falters with focusing more on the masala; Bollywood is known to plant whenever they start lacking on gripping plots. So, we see emotional urges taking over obvious astuteness, regular tiffs between the team, hard-to-believe successful escape plans and an unfeasible end that totally is to please & blow away audience’s various sentiments regarding this national issue sounded more like a personal war for every countryman. Get your hands ready for claps when see that happen what if only on screen!

Advani’s premise is very appealing-very mass attracting. The execution part is also thoroughly intended and incessantly belongs to the likes of any docu-drama shot in the crowded lanes of Karachi. Narrative pattern that includes timelines of the events on screen to make it look documented effort, works in favor. Special mention to the ‘Alvida’ song for its bloody beautiful visualization, literally! On the acting front, Irrfan does his part with sheer honesty. Watch out for him in heartrending scenes with his family. Arjun Rampal, Shruti Haasan & Huma Quareshi is standard. But if we are talking about performances par expectations, Rishi Kapoor as stylishly dressed Don, Aakash Dahiya as fourth player in the operation and Shriswara as Irrfan’s affably adorable wife top the list. Chandan Roy Sanyal is a complete waste.

At the end, this thrilling operation that had all the means to finish the long-awaited drought of a good thriller miserably could not meet its desirable end, thanks to its own flaws that lie in the high octane drama & a forcibly commercial end in the second half. A troubled case of wasted opportunity! [2.5/5]

SHORTS: Bigger and better than the most of usual Friday releases! [4/5]

It wasn't ages back so, I assume you remember the awe-inspiring times of Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen, Govind Nihlani, Saeed Akhtar Mirza and lots more, when Indian cinema discovered the term of new-wave parellel cinema aka meaningful cinema [Alas, we could access that on Doordarshan primarily either on Sunday afternoons or in late night slots] to reinvent- rekindle their conscientiousness to play a pivotal role in showing not the dreamy-saucy world of lies but the gloomy- depressingly dark world of dead reality. In today’s times, the same kind of liability and movement is being lead by Mr. Anurag Kashyap and his extremely passionate team of new-age indie filmmakers!

SHORTS is, in principle, a nicely conceived & designed bouquet of 5 award-winning short films by 5 potential filmmakers of tomorrow. Now, you can find many more short indie films swarming on social networking sites and on video sharing sites like YouTube but these 5 are the best of the bests…and comparatively bigger & better than the most of usual Friday releases.

Directed by Shlok Sharma, SUJATA is a hard-hitting tale of an intrafamilial sexual abuse victim who has been in such painful state for years and is now left with no other option but to rebel & react. Huma Qureshi thrives in hitting every chord just right in every moment she’s in.  

THE EPILOGUE by Siddharth Gupt creates a modern-age thriller, innovatively conceptualized with striking amalgamation of interesting visuals & sound cuts. You won’t find any dialogues here but a suggestively haunting giggles and chuckles of Richa Chaddha, playing a wild, aggressive, unstable, unreal lover to a man confined & restrained to his own. This film leaves a lot unanswered to challenge you to interpret. Impressive!    

Anirban Roy’s AUDACITY is about a free-spirited girl trapped into her own house with a father who spends his nights playing card-games with friends from neighborhood and a mother who’s always into cooking and ‘poojas’. This portrayal of typical Bengali middle-class family routine is pleasantly ended with reasonable suggestion of a way out.   

MEHFUZ by Rohit Pandey starts with Gulzar saab’s ‘Maut tu ek kavita hai, mujhse ek kavita ka waada hai milegi mujhko’, lines getting lived by a dead faced man, missing an alive warmth of companionship while sincerely taking care of unidentified-unattended dead bodies. The pain of longing and the unmoved, hard-to-shake almost dead emotions are beautifully enacted by Nawazuddin. Romancing with the dead!

& lastly, Neeraj Ghaywan’s excruciatingly real SHOR that shows the troubled times in life of a North Indian dysfunctional family of working wife, unemployed husband and an unreasonable mother, in the city of dreams Mumbai. Vineet singh outshines along with Ratnabali Bhattacharjee to evoke an emotional outburst that starts on a very sore, stinging and discomforting level but ends up with lumps in your throat, tears in eyes & a smile with a hope that everything will be settled after.

Beautifully shot, brilliantly executed concepts, perfectly created tone to suit each story differently and accordingly! This presentation is an actor’s delight, filmmaker’s pride and viewer’s choice. If you see cinema as an art, this is for you. If you see cinema as a medium of expression, this is for you. If you see cinema as a serious business or a career option, this is definitely for you. I just wish I could see a time when every Friday I have something like this. Overwhelming Experience! ****[4/5]