MARDAANI: In all those hopeless commercial biggies, a small promise of change! [2.5/5]

Pradeep Sarkar’s MARDAANI is a small small film. Small neither because of its crispy, edgy & cross 114 minutes of total duration nor because it lacks a male superstar must for the most. Could be a disappointment because of the fact that it comes from one of the biggest film production houses in Bollywood! Well, it is small by and large because it did have the opportunity of going miles with an uncompromising burning issue in hand but sadly doesn’t take the required flight and succumb to being a hardcore commercial film. Still, better! Much much better than those nonsensical comedies, meaningless action entertainers and male-dominant plots. Credit goes to the earnest performance by Rani Mukerji and the issue based plot craving for immediate attention from allover.

Child sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal, inhuman & heartless criminal practice on every corners of the globe. And India is apparently the biggest hub for abducting and pushing victims of 12 years & more into the darkest pit of crime known as sex slavery. MARDAANI is all about one fearless cop trying to bust one such syndicate all alone with best of efforts, toughest of anger and strongest of determination. Shivani Shivaji Roy [played by Rani Mukerji] is a street smart tough cop who can mouth foul words without having any agitation or discomfort especially when on duty and also doesn’t mind cooking for her family even if in uniform. She is the new hero in Bollywood who is ready all the time to fight back the bad & the ugly, even in her sleep.

Problem with MARDAANI is that it never takes itself rightly. Where it could actually take the leap, it decides to lie back and get easy with the comforts of a commercial cinema. For instance, how could a missing girl’s information not alarm our sincere cop about the possibility of her being a victim of human trafficking? And where is the gravity of the issue if it requires a personal angle to charge up our main protagonist? Thankfully, the film doesn’t bother to feed you pointless added details like the back-story of main lead, dramatic outbursts in her professional life, emotional quotients responsible to shape up her stature the way she is today and so many others. Even cinematically, you will not find anything too multifaceted. It’s simple, straightforward and very much existent. So, do not expect a cat & mouse chase with high octane action sequences. Though the climax is quite unimaginative and a little dramatic!

Performances are subtle and restrained enough to give you a realistic feel. Rani as Shivani is in form. From her first in RAJA KI AAYEGI BAARAAT to this, her acts of resentment, resistance & revolt have always been appreciated. She can be fragile at one time and ferocious at the very next. Here too, she sets the screen on fire. Her character definitely deserves another chance with better hand at script and plot. Shivani Shivaji Rao could be a serious contest to all the SINGHAMs & DABANGGs! Tahir Raj Bhasin as the cool, calm & composed mastermind of the trafficking syndicate impresses with his ease with acting for camera. Veteran actress Mona Ambegaonkar surprises or rather shocks you in her excitingly vivacious yet vindictive shade of character. Why on earth we don’t see her more often on big screen?

Overall, it is a film that deserved better and more evolved hand at direction; the plot & the writing sure had it in glances & glimpses. Watch it for an unexpected change it promises to bring to Hindi commercial cinema but don’t anticipate whatever you have been praising till the very last entry in the 100 Cr club. It’s better; in content and in intend both! [2.5/5]  

SINGHAM RETURNS: A pair of earplugs could save a lot for you! Rest is all wasted! [2/5]

The consequences of a film joining the over-hyped ‘100 Cr’ club could be many but one you don’t really want to face in most cases, is its inescapable and obvious sequel. Rohit Shetty’s SINGHAM RETURNS is one of those. As a fellow cop in the team makes it loud and clear soon after hero’s grand entry on screen, “Gaanv se shaher badla hai par apne Bajirao Singham ke kaam karne ka tareeka ab bhi wahi hai”! Translation could read, “Only the locations have been changed and the settings, Singham is all the same”. Spot on! SINGHAM RETURNS is a mindless action entertainer that tickles your heart less and hammers on your head more. I hope it hints you enough to carry earplugs and a couple of pills, in case of severe headache!

The new playground for Bajirao Singham [Ajay Devgn back in his vest & khaki avatar] is the city of Mumbai where corrupt politicians force their own set of rules to rule. An Anna Hazare in disguise idealistic Guruji [Anupam Kher in an extended guest appearance] is unwavering about cleaning the filth called corruption and black money from politics but the evil forces including barely a sketchy politician [Zakir Hussain in his probably most attempted character on screen] and a phony holyman who immediately gets into his cool casuals with a glass of beer in hands when not in some public appearances, have their own vicious plans. Singham returns to fight for freedom, justice and enforcement of law in the system, against these mean minds.

Rohit Shetty’s SINGHAM RETURNS clearly shows his over-confidence in the most usual and sub-standard plot. An honest cop’s frustration and distress while on duty leads him to be transformed into a fearless fighter who can also go beyond law to teach lawbreakers a hard lesson. So far so good! So far some respite! But when you see Ajay devgn mouthing dialogues like, “dhoom machaani hai machao, par bike ki gati [speed] par nahin, desh ki pragati [progress] par”, you sure can guess where it’s going. And SINGHAM RETURNS does that often. Where the first half is quite alike any regular episode of the longest running cop-drama CID on TV [You can also find the loveably single-minded Daya here to act on his favorite, “Daya, Darwaja tod do!”, second half is more of Shetty-special shootouts, blasts and ceaseless gravity-defying goon-bashing sequences.     

The other part that doesn’t go well with the film is the love-track! Kareena Kapoor plays Avni who besides dreaming to own a franchise of salon, can be seen frenzied over the idea of her marriage to Singham. It is the least appreciated thing if you have especially come out to see a Rohit Shetty Action entertainer. On the performances, Ajay does what people love to see him doing. A macho man who is invincible, intrepid and heroic in every sense! Kareena irritates, well mostly! Amole Gupte slips into the skin of Chandraswamy like Guru of political influences well and succeeds in providing some not sufficient but good laughs.

At the end, a strict warning for parents! If the child artist’s ‘mala raga gheto hai’ act in Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Aati majhi satakali’ song looks cute to you and your kid, it doesn’t necessarily mean the film is for kids! Stop taking your kids in each and every film you go for! It is like in between those blasting-flying-on fire SUVs in the film, you see a trapped Tata Nano being driven by Ajay Devgn and you go into serious prayers, “No, not this! Don’t! You can’t!” Watch it only if you’re one of those unfortunates who are still at home on this extended weekend! Rest, do not bother! [2/5]

HOLIDAY: Think twice! Entertainment is off duty! [2/5]

It is quite hard to decide what is more exasperating in A R Murugadoss’ HOLIDAY- A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, the distasteful-impolite & offensive exposé of modern Indian women or the overenthusiastically proud praise of Indian Army? The leading lady here [Ms ‘100 Cr’ Sinha] is apparently a new-age rebellious daughter who could give serious threat to the mother and slap hard to her father if asked to do something not of her interest. Meanwhile, she’s also dumb as a doll to decide getting married instantly whoever comes in way as guys with sharp brain & good looks are vanishing fast from earth. Right!

And now the driving force; if not busy in trying to fulfill his lady’s wish to perform a kiss [???] or shaking his legs too often, the soldier never off duty [the ageing Akshay Kumar] constantly gets into a preachy mode to justify and establish how and why the Indian Army men are better & more dependable for country’s security than police and civilians. Yeah! Right!!

HOLIDAY- a remake of Murugdoss’s Tamil superhit THUPPAKKI is not a bad film at all as it has all the possible & potential ‘masalas’ for a ‘dhansu’ action entertainer. A hero who’s always a step ahead of villain’s deadly plans of mass-destruction, a heroine who’s ever ready to step in to the dancing shoes, non-stop action, solid dialoguebaazi but what it lacks is the sense of being and belonging. Though I know this is not a kind one should look out for much reasoning but the common sense not to be found even in traces is rather hurtful.

Film sustains and succeeds in introducing the concept of ‘sleeper-cells’ in India but sadly it is presented more of as a plain verbal threat and no inside out hard-hitting visuals to support the premise. I wish it could have explored the functioning of this dreadful modus oparandi of terrorism rather than just focusing on one man behind all this especially when you aren’t equipped with an impressive antagonist. Though he has the built and basics of a good baddie, Freddy Daruwala as the brainy guy behind terrific act of terrorism looks more like a sidekick to Vidyut Jamwal who had played the same role in the original. Govinda makes a short & sweet special appearance but looks completely off sync. He sure deserves better roles to justify his age and caliber. Sumeet Raghvan is some relief.

On the whole; with a nearly 3 hours of duration, this ‘trying to be smarter than the smartest’ thriller-cum-entertainer is like a dull, boring and extended holiday trip where you don’t really have much to explore and sight-see but the luxury and comfort of a premium hotel. Just fall in the bed, sleep, eat, sleep again and come back with a promise never to be back in the same territory again. Hope Akshay could hear this out! [2/5]

GULAAB GANG: Good old ‘Good vs. Evil’ clash in a new plastic bottle! Better not taste!! [2/5]

There were times when a Bollywood film didn’t necessarily need much in the name of content and plot but definitely superstars of ‘larger than life’ stature and in numbers. The era of multi-starrers, then, was measured by how big and how many stars one could bring under one roof, supported by an impressive face of villain. You must have encountered some of those on the bygone VHS viewing. Saumik Sen’s GULAAB GANG brings back memories of the same but in a bad bad taste. It is nothing more than two great actresses of their times coming together for the first time to share the screen. That’s it.  

Rajjo [Played by ravishing Madhuri in quite a typical role] leads a group of women, deprived by destiny, dressed in pink and dogged to fight. Together they can make things work in the system. From fighting for basic necessities like education, electricity, food to standing out as a powerful judiciary system of their own, they play cool until enters a mean, wicked, heartless menace Sumitra Devi [Juhi Chawla stealing the show as her first strive in negative role]. Sumitra is a self-centered power-hungry politician who barely has left any signs of humanity and sympathy against suppressed in her, though the kind of creepy smile on her face never really goes missing even when things aren’t much in favor. The clash can’t be averted. It’s just a matter of how, where and when.

Despite the fact that the makers are in complete denial, film clearly finds indisputable similarities with the real life Gulabi Gang led by Sampat Pal of Chhatisgarh, in look, intent and in functioning too. This is a shameless dark side of the profession but that’s actually nothing in facade of the lack of earnestness while making the film. Rajjo’s obsessive dream to open a school in the village often looks melodramatic. Performing on well-choreographed songs is like the only other activity this gang is occupied with. And if it is not over, there are gravity-defying action sequences too where you witness Rajjo turning heroically into ‘Singham’ ‘Dabangg’ ‘Rowdy Rathore’ kind of mass-entertainers who could fly, jump and kick anyone from anywhere.

Saumik Sen directs well especially while creating drama [Watch out for the abduction scene of a rapist in the village pond] and even shows an impressive hand in an overall look of the film but once the gimmicky ‘Madhuri comes opposite Juhi’ factor enters the scene, the rest gets carried away. In other mentionable part, Divya Jagdale and Priyanka Bose strike and provide delightful moments as members of the gang. Their chemistry together has sometimes more sparks than the leads. Tannishtha Chatterjee is wasted. She definitely needed a better support from writing.

Subject could have been the hero but sadly it’s always the Madhuri Vs Juhi. Madhuri dons the role of Rajjo with total ease, looks smashing, acts flawless and dances to win hearts but for me, it is Juhi Chawla who beats everyone with her bravura performance. I wasn’t expecting this from her at all. Definitely writers have worked on her part well and she has done full justice. What a comeback!

At the end; if you really want to celebrate ‘Women’s Day’ and the sentiments of Women empowerment, I will leave you with two choices. Try to catch Nishtha Jain’s honest, real and an eye-opener documentary ‘GULABI GANG’ or if not anything else, go for Kangana Ranaut’s QUEEN. Saumik Sen's ‘GULAAB GANG’ is a must for only Juhi Chawla Fans! [2/5]

R…RAJKUMAR: The Worst Mash-up of Action, Emotion & Drama! Southern curry turns sour & tasteless!! [1.5/5]

Try to visualize 12 minutes of bone cracking- neck breaking fight stunts, 10 minutes of absurdly insensitive & irksome concept of romance where the boy does nothing but stalking the girl and 3-4 minutes of bum shaking- chest popping dance sequences filled with pelvic movements & blended in with equally annoying lyrics with no sense or sensibility! It is not hard I guess, since we all have seen such formula lately in many 100 Cr club entries. Now, multiply this whole formula with 5, add some credit rolls in the opening & closing and whatever filth/waste you will take home is nothing but Prabhu Dheva’s southern curry & sheer stupidity in the name of mass entertainment called ‘R…RAJKUMAR’!  

‘R…RAJKUMAR’ is the worst mash-up of all the ingredients required for a blockbuster. It has action, it has drama and it has humor but lacks a good punch in the storyline and the much-needed smart & skilled expert hands to mix it well. The wafer-thin story doesn’t give much scope to shock & surprise you in every sense. Romeo Rajkumar [Shahid Kapoor’s first & the most commercial attempt to set the box-office ringing], a fearless rowdy working as the most promising sidekick to Shivraj [Sonu Sood in an equal share of screen presence] falls in love at the first sight with Chanda [Sonakshi gets repetitive in her typical ‘Dabangg’ avatar]. Game Changes when Shivraj’s lust for Chanda forces Rajkumar to stand against his powerful master.

Film doesn’t bother to show any kind of involvement of intelligence, sensibility or respect, neither in writing nor in performances. Characters mouth dialogues that start & end with harsh addressing sounds and with very little hints of logics! Women here are just a material to own at any cost and even thrown in the pool of gaming as the winner’s trophy. In performances, Shahid shows off his upper hand in highly flexible moves for action & dance. Sonu also succeeds in flaunting his well-built muscles and in some of the comic scenes. Sonakshi should really need to work on her priorities in choosing roles. I fear if this would land her in the league of forgetful actors. In others; from Ashish Vidyarthi to Asrani, everyone else is as loud as they could be. Notice if you can, Bharat Dabholkar wearing Merlyn Monroe printed Ties whenever he appears on the screen and that could add some joy to feel in the wasteland of tasteless entertainment.        

In the very climax, Shivraj beats & thrashes Rajkumar his guts out with metal rods, wooden furniture and anything that comes in way! Our Romeo Rajkumar as he is supposed to be in deep love; feels no pain or hurting…so do we but because of the beatings and bashings we have been experiencing since the very start to become numb till the time, to any kind of brutality.  

In other words or in better words if I choose to describe Prabhu Dheva’s  ‘R…RAJKUMAR’, it would end up sounding like bam…bang…bash…biff…buff…bong…bonk…bop…clang…clank…crash…dong…fash…pock…plunk…shoop…shwap…swoosh…snap…slap…splat…throb…thud…thump…thung…thunk…tup…whack…wham…whop…whump and zlopp! This weekend, be blessed-be safe-stay at home! [1.5/5]

SINGH SAAB THE GREAT: Loud, melodramatic, outdated action potboiler! SINGHAM saab the great!! [2/5]

With a catchy phrase of ‘‘badla nahin badlaav’, this SINGH SAAB THE GREAT fights against corruption & more but in his own way. He saves a girl from an obsessive lover-turned-acid attacker and pours the bottle in his pants, only to realize later that it was cleanly swapped with absolutely harmless nontoxic water. In others, he hits back to ill-practices of hefty donations for higher education, crime-syndicates indulged into food adulteration & illegal storage, the in-vein bribery in bureaucratic system etc.

At one stage, he also doesn’t forget to comment on TRP-driven media with ‘aap journalist hain…thodi toh samajhdaari dikhayiye’. Sounds good?? Yes, sounds good but loud too…in fact, extremely loud! & that’s the problem with SINGH SAAB THE GREAT! Everything that happens, happens with a noisy-ear deafening sound beyond the range of decibels set for normal human hearing.

Anil Sharma’s SINGH SAAB THE GREAT is a loud, melodramatic, over-aged action potboiler that is best enjoyable at single screen theatres where claps set the mood for anything outrageous and compensate for the most of inconsequential parts. A supposedly comeback vehicle of the real action star Sunny Deol, film seems to be going forward with a noble cause of social reformation as its structural content base but fails to built an inspiring legend out of it to meet its desired end. A mediocre script filled with run of the mill plot-subplots & superfluous emotional sequences including hero’s women affiliations i.e. lovely wife, bubbly sister!

Story written by GADAR fame Shaktimaan smells rotten & out-dated where an honest district collector Saranjeet Singh [played by Sunny Deol] sweats his blood out to stop corruption personified by a local dominant king of all illegal actions Bhoodev Singh [played by Prakash Raj in his regular avatar as if coming straight from the sets of Singham & Dabangg 2]. In one scene, when the villainous Prakash Raj tries to twist Deol’s character Saranjeet Singh’s arm by kidnapping his sister, Saranjeet Singh hits back with taking Prakash Raj’s wife & daughter into his custody. Now, isn’t it something we all have thought as an escape-plan to our emotional to the core Bollywood heroes? But surprisingly it’s one of the few exciting moments in the film that brings an effortless smile on your face.

On the performances, Sunny looks every part of his character. He succeeds in charming you with his personality and the honesty dripping off his face. Prakash Raj, when not chewing off his lips, sure entertains you in bits & pieces especially in an item song where he dances with his left feet following ‘dance like no one is watching’ attitude. You have to see it to believe it [Considering his real life better-half Pony Verma being an established choreographer]. New face Urvashi Rautela is mostly there as a regular heroine material with her plastic smile best for advertising the new toothpaste in your nearest supermarket. Amrita Rao is inconsistent but looks quite impressive. You also need to have some kind of magical powers to deal with unbearably annoying sidekicks of both on screen & that includes actors like Johnny Lever, Manoj Pahwa.

I wish if it would have been released soon after GADAR, it would have become an instant crowdpuller but as of now when everyone looks so done with SINGHAM era, it is just another of the league! You can even re-coined its name as ‘SINGHAM SAAB THE GREAT’! Watch if Sunny’s Roar can evoke electrifying energy in you! For me, it’s just OK! [2/5]