SHAANDAAR: Epic fail! [1.5/5]

Learn the rules before you choose to unlearn everything and make as many mistakes as you could never afford earlier. Is this the new addition in the rulebook for filmmakers in Bollywood? If not so, I fear there has to be some scam as how and why Vikas Bahl would choose a flawed, faulty and fire-less script like SHAANDAAR for his next after the all brave, bold and one of the best films in recent times QUEEN. Has creative complacency hit the talent in question? I hope not but SHAANDAAR is a discouraging example of ‘you never go in a memorial service to just admire the beauty of the coffin’; unless you are in a black humor production which even SHAANDAAR is supposedly not.

With SHAANDAAR, Vikas Bahl tries to show us what fate the candy-floss cinema of Disney would meet if made in Bollywood. The only fact he probably forgets midway that Disney itself has tasted the same flavor of disappointment in their first foray, most would not love to remember as KHOOBSURAT starring Sonam Kapoor. Bahl transports the viewers straight from the all relatable Janakpuri in Delhi [where QUEEN was located] to some fancy and fairy place of vast green lawns, serene lakes dipped in blue moonlight and cosmic castles on the likes of Czech historical architecture.

The plot itself is hugely borrowed, traditional and uncomplicated but a perfect in all probability for a fairytale romantic film. An insomniac orphan is brought into an overcast house where everyone lives under the dark shadow of a controlling, scheming and evil old lady [the veteran Sushma Seth]. 20 years down the line, the orphan Alia [Alia Bhatt] still gets consoled by her father [Pankaj Kapoor] that someday, someone will come in her life to make her sleep. The prince charming enters as the wedding planner Jagjinder Jogindar [Shahid Kapoor] for the other daughter of the house [Sanah Kapoor]. Now, this wedding chaos sees the gold-obsessed Fundwani [Sanjay Kapoor] with his gym-loving dumbbell brother-cum-groom making it all a business deal with the old-lady. Both the families are on the edge of bankruptcy and see the other as the only hope for their survival.

Vikas Bahl beautifully introduces the elements of fine animation to tell the story whenever it decides to travel in flashback. Those three chunks of animated part are so impressive, well-designed and technically clean that you wish it lasts for the rest two hours also, of the total duration of the film. The screenplay and the dialogues [by Anvita Dutt] are totally uneven, patchy and distasteful. The orphan being not an orphan but an illegitimate child is never a revelation. And why it has to be a fact always maintained in a Bollywood film that the male designer will be a gay in hideout? Bahl earned respects of all sorts for bringing out the undiscovered layers in today’s women’s personality and with such boldness that one feels proud to have someone so gutsy but here, his female characters are either too strong-headed or in too compromising position. A plump, curvy and bulky bride to be is teased continuously for obvious reasons but waits for her father and the large-hearted prince to intervene. Sometimes, just one slap on screen ensures scores of claps inside the theater! You missed it, Mr. Bahl!

With Pankaj Kapoor, Shahid and his sister Sanah in one frame, SHAANDAAR is more interesting family affair off-screen than on-screen. The sparkling chemistry between the three Kapoors is cheering. Sanah impresses with her first acting sting and her lovely and lively presence on screen. Alia is a complete show-stealer. The innocence she brings with her matches the emotional need of the character. Niki Walia captures your attention in her comeback. Sanjay Kapoor’s being there can only be seen as a justification of budget issues to cast Anil Kapoor.

Overall, SHAANDAAR remains Vikas Bahl’s over-ambitious, forgettable and flawed expedition to the corrupt commercial world of box-office driven success where content takes back seat and the canvas holds the steering wheel. An epic fail! [1.5/5]

FINDING FANNY (ENGLISH): ‘Finding it funny’ is an understatement! [3.5/5]

Early in the collective journey to find the love of an old loner’s life; when the later reacts in anxiety, ‘Isn’t it hot today?’, the man on driving seat and with the least interest in such trip throws away his apathy, “I am feeling cold”…“You must be in fever then” “no, it’s a statement of sarcasm”, he clarifies straight-faced & boldly. That should also be the preliminary and precautionary declaration to viewers as what they should expect from Homi Adajania’s smartly written, deliciously performed and dynamically directed comedy-drama FINDING FANNY.

Set in an unreal-unheard village of Goa, Fredie [Naseeruddin Shah, tastes as good as old wine] is a lonesome postman with no letters to deliver. His life gets an awakening knock when someone drops an old undelivered letter to his doorstep. It was written by him 46 years back and for his love of life then, Fanny. It is an end to his years-long wait but to give it a possible fresh new start to find Fanny, there’s Angie [Deepika Padukone as bright & shine as the morning Sun] who, despite her 15 min-short married life firmly believes in, “No one deserves an incomplete love-story”.

There’s also Angie’s heavily-structured crabby-grumpy old mother-in-law Rosalina [Dimple Kapadia in an all juicy-spicy avatar], a bitter, harsh & sulking love-interest to Angie [Arjun Kapoor’s best till date] and last but never the least, the amazingly vibrant but lecherous womanizer artist in search of a new muse for his painting, Don Pedro Cleto Colaco [The powerhouse and an institution in himself Pankaj Kapoor]. Together, they all are on a ride to find love in their lives.

FINDING FANNY is dark-dim & gloomy in emotions where every character is either with broken hearts or in deep abandoned state of mind seeking the missing piece in their lives but the way they behave and presented on screen is very caricature-ish yet far more realistic than any Bollywood mainstream cinema. So, there is plenty of room for humor that comes from the wit in the nature of being that character and belonging there in the said situation. Point to be noted here is that you have to be very attentive and alert to not miss any of the punches hidden or underlined in any regular verbal exchange. Special mention to the writer!

The lingo is rooted, earthy and well in-synced with the spirit of English speaking Goan people. Anil Mehta’s visual strokes are like travel postcards. The old houses with fences, bricky textures, neatly stuffed rooms with furniture and props slowly getting into antique mode and picturesque landscapes of Konkan belt are vividly captured. Mathias Duplessy’s tingling music constantly keeps you engaged in the scene. And if not anything, the performances will floor you right away. Naseer’s cute smiles, Pankaj’s lustful eyes, Arjun’s burst of anger, Deepika’s naive beauty and Dimple’s richly layered emotions, there are reasons more than just one to not miss it.

After his last being a 100 Cr club entrance (Deepika-Saif starrer COCKTAIL), FINDING FANNY is like Homi’s homecoming to what he had promised with his first (BEING CYRUS). No non-sense performances, grave humor and a good hand at writing. It is easily one of the most refreshing films you’ve seen this year! [3.5/5]