अ फ्लाइंग जट्ट: बे-असरदार सुपरहीरो! [1.5/5]

भारत चमत्कारों का देश है. यहाँ सब भगवान भरोसे होता है. तो एक सुपरहीरो बनने-बनाने में दिमाग या समझदारी का इस्तेमाल करने की जेहमत क्यूँ उठानी? बस एक तूफ़ानी रात, पेड़ पर बना धार्मिक निशान (सिख धर्म का खंडा), बैकग्राउंड में एक जोशीला भक्तिमय गीत और दानव-रुपी खलनायक से लड़ता एक भोला-भाला नौजवान; बॉलीवुड को इससे ज्यादा कुछ और चाहिए ही नहीं. रेमो डी’सूज़ा की ‘अ फ्लाइंग जट्ट’ देखते-देखते अक्सर टुकड़ों में ही सही, 1975 की महान पारिवारिक फिल्म ‘जय संतोषी माँ’’ एक बार फिर दिमागी परदे पर चलने लगती है. मजबूर, लाचार और बेबस की मदद को जहां ईश्वरीय शक्ति हर वक़्त तैयार बैठी रहती है, बस एक भजन भर गाने की देर है. 40 साल बाद भी बॉलीवुड के लिए मनोरंजन के मापदंडों में कहीं कुछ नहीं बदला है.

पंजाब के किसी एक शहर में मल्होत्रा [के के मेनन] प्रदूषण की फैक्ट्री चला रहा है. उसकी तरक्की के रास्ते में रुकावट बन रहा है जमीन का एक छोटा सा टुकड़ा, जहां एक माँ [अमृता सिंह] अपने दो बेटों [टाइगर श्रॉफ, गौरव पांडेय], 40-50 किरायेदारों और एक पवित्र पेड़ के साथ हर शाम 7 बजे व्हिस्की के पैग लगाती पाई जाती है. मुझे यकीन है, उसके पंजाबी होने का अब आपको और कोई सबूत नहीं चाहिए. मल्होत्रा के नापाक इरादों को पूरा करने में उसकी मदद को खड़ा है एक दैत्याकार बाहुबली राका [डब्ल्यू डब्ल्यू ई के नाथन जोंस]. राका के साथ लड़ाई के दौरान ही अमन [टाइगर श्रॉफ] को दैवीय शक्तियां मिल जाती हैं. उसकी माँ और भाई तो ख़ुशी से नाचने ही लगते हैं, जब पता चलता है, अमन के अन्दर चाहे छूरा घोंप दो, तो भी कुछ नहीं होता. दोनों बाकायदा बारी-बारी से उसे चाक़ू मार-मार के तसल्ली भी कर रहे हैं. हालाँकि अमन के लिए सुपरहीरो बनना और भी दुखदायी हो गया है. माँ रोज रात को तैयार करके कहती है, “जा, दुनिया बचा!”.

फिल्म की कहानी को मतलब और मकसद देने के लिए रेमो जिस प्रदूषण और हरियाली के बीच की जंग को मुद्दा बनाकर पेश करते हैं, वो फिल्म के टाइटल सीक्वेंस में बहुत असरदार तरीके से सामने आता है. एक आदमी पेड़ काट रहा है और कैसे उसका ये कदम पूरी दुनिया के साथ-साथ उसकी भी तबाही का कारण बन सकता है, खूबसूरत एनीमेशन के जरिये रेमो अपनी बात चंद मिनटों में ही ख़तम कर देते हैं. पर बात जब इसी को बाकी के ढाई घंटे में बताने की आती है, तो फिल्म उसी कटे पेड़ की तरह एक झटके में ढह जाती है. एक हादसे में राका का ‘प्रदूषण, गन्दगी और धुएं’ से शक्तियां प्राप्त करने वाला दैत्य बन जाना, उसे हराने और मारने के लिए फ्लाइंग जट्ट का उसे लेकर दूसरे ग्रह पे चले जाना, उनका स्पेस में सेटेलाइट्स के बीच लड़ाई करना; फिल्म अपनी बचकानी और वाहियात राइटिंग से आपको परेशान करने लगती है. अफसोस तो ये है कि इसे पूरी तरह बच्चों की फिल्म भी नहीं कहा जा सकता, खासकर उन दृश्यों की वजह से जहां जैकलिन फ़र्नांडिस फ्लाइंग जट्ट से अपनी ज़िन्दगी का ‘फर्स्ट किस’ डिमांड कर रही हैं.

‘अ फ्लाइंग जट्ट’ सिर्फ चार या पांच दृश्यों में देखने लायक फिल्म कही जा सकती है. इनमें से ज्यादातर वो कॉमेडी सीन हैं, जहां सुपरहीरो अमन की टांग-खिंचाई उसकी अपनी ही माँ और भाई के हाथों हो रही होती है. के के मेनन अपने किरदार में इस तरह का पागलपन ‘द्रोणा’ और ‘सिंह इज़ ब्लिंग’ में पहले भी दिखा चुके हैं. अमृता सिंह कहीं-कहीं बहुत बेकाबू हो जाती हैं, पर सब मिला-जुला के अच्छी लगती हैं. सटीक कास्टिंग के साथ, गौरव पाण्डेय टाइगर के भाई की भूमिका में अच्छा खासा प्रभावित करते हैं. एक ही बात समझ नहीं आती, अगर लड़ाई प्रदूषण और पर्यावरण के बीच है तो प्लास्टिक [जैकलिन चाभी वाली गुड़िया से ज्यादा न कुछ और लगती हैं, न करती हैं] और रबर [टाइगर का हर फिल्म में मार्शल आर्ट एक्सपर्ट बनना वैसा ही होता जा रहा है, जैसे निरूपा रॉय का हर फिल्म में अपने बच्चों से बिछड़ जाना] पर्यावरण की तरफ कैसे हो सकते हैं??

बहरहाल, रेमो डी’सूज़ा की बेवकूफी भरी ‘अ फ्लाइंग जट्ट’ का मज़ा आपको लेना है तो थिएटर में आँखें बंद करके बैठ जाईये और भगवान पर भरोसा रखिये. कोई सुपरहीरो आपको इस फिल्म से बचाने भले ही नहीं आये, पर सरदर्द थोड़ा कम होगा और बॉलीवुड से आपका भरोसा पूरी तरह नहीं टूटेगा. माफ़ कीजिये, पर ये सरदार बेअसरदार है! चलिए, कोई नया ढूंढते हैं! [1.5/5]       

BIRDMAN OR [THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE]: A cinematic bliss! Extremely Heartwarming!![4.5/5]

A Critic from The Times is all geared up to knock down one’s first tryout at theatre-production with a bad bad review. She hasn’t even been to any of the previews yet. The actor-director gives her back a hard time for being impolite, uninformed and ruthless about one’s massive efforts behind it. And then, comes the concluding line of the heated conversation, “you aren’t an actor. You are a movie-star.” The man at the receiving end is a washed-up actor famed & framed in typecast for playing a superhero all his life and now, his next move is to make a thriving comeback with a Broadway adaptation of a seasoned short-story. The invited struggle was supposed to be for breaking one’s comfort zone and making him easily placed in mainstream but it turns out to be a clash of ego, self-centric image and mental baggage of past riding on head.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s BIRDMAN OR [THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE] is a smart, witty, sharp and awesomely entertaining journey of a faded superstar trying to search for a new identity in the changing times. Riggan [Michael Keaton] was the most popular in 90s. His movies where he would lock up himself in a bird suit to create Birdman- the superhero have been in the list of all time top-grossers but today, he’s hardly there. He holds no Facebook page. He doesn’t know how to handle a Twitter account. His last hope to survive the struggle to exist is the Broadway production he’s acting in and directing.

BIRDMAN OR [THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE] is filled with dark humor coming from left, right and center. Smartly written dialogues are performed with such ease and with barely any hint of pre-conceived realization that you need to be on your toes all the time to not miss any of the punches. Film is edited sharply and astutely in such manner that the whole film looks like a one continuous shot film. It amazes you with the kind of precision one could only imagine while writing, shooting, acting and editing such flawless film. Film has a certain mysterious outlook with added surreal elements of a fantasy flick and the grasping music by the celebrated drummer Antonio Sanchez perfectly adds complementing flavors to that.

As an overtly enthusiast and an actor craving for perfection in his performance till the levels of madness, Edward Norton gives us the most unpredictable yet reliably most entertaining character in the film. Beware! As to make it look more real, he has just tried to have real sex with his on-stage co-actor [Naomi Watts] in a full-house theatre. Emma Stone plays the rehabbed daughter to Riggan efficiently. Zach Galifianakis’ role of the play-producer is a controlled performance with its own share of giggling moments. Naomi Watts, Amy Ryan and Andrea Riseborough too mark their presence felt but the one who gives it all is unquestionably Michael Keaton. As an actor torn and tattered between his successful past and almost non-existing present, Keaton wears the pain and the pun both on his expressive muscles with a powerful performance. This is my pick at the Oscars for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

With invariable mentions of Hollywood celebrities, cleverly witty remarks on them, settings of stage-rehearsals, inter-personal conflicts between actors sharing the same platform, inhibitions, insecurities, identity-crisis and the undying urge to be on the front page and not on the third, BIRDMAN OR [THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE] is a perfect Hollywood film, set in Hollywood and about Hollywood. DO NOT MISS IT as Inarritu gives his best shot, so does Keaton! A Masterstroke, extremely heartwarming!! [4.5/5]

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Humorously heart-warming Superhero Film! MARVEL-ous! [4/5]

Confidence is the outfit superheroes sport full of grace. Superheroes act smart and in a much designed manner. Superheroes don’t really have a plan B because they don’t really need. Superheroes master in channelizing their angst against the rival forces. Superheroes have it in them and it shows. But the people we are talking about here, them ain’t superheroes. Not even close. They are just a bunch of losers. The definition can be wisely lightened to ‘the ones who have lost something or the other in life’; in case you really want to make them feel less humiliated. Still, they are the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY…and as a film; this is no less than any superhero movie at any level.

In a deserted planet; named Morag if you are really bothered, Peter Quill [played by Chris Pratt] is a space outlaw with a self-proclaimed arty name StarLord. In order to make his name in the business, he gets into the theft of a mysterious orb from evil forces, a serious threat to the existence of the galaxy. Proceedings in the plot lead him to a prison where he bonds with an alien-girl Gamora [Zoe Saldana], the huge-heartless and mechanical Drax the Destroyer, an ill-mouthed aggressively violent but hilarious raccoon Rocket [Bradley Cooper lends his voice] and my personal favorite, a walking tree who talks only as much as ‘I am Groot’ [the heavy gritty voice of Vin Diesel]. Now, together they need to emerge as the guardians of the galaxy but looking at each one’s flaws, aren’t we asking for too much?

Based on Marvel Comics’s lesser known characters, James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a pleasant surprise disguised as a superhero film. The similarity and likeness in the settings and visuals don’t go out of sight but the soul and the inner spirit of the film take a sharp turn at being not just a heart-thumping, nerve-wrecking and extensively jam-packed with heavy visual effects but a humorously heartwarming film that constantly & effortlessly lets you stretch your facial muscles.

Quill’s fascination with 80’s pop songs on his Sony walkman fills a hypnotic background score in the numinous outer space. His mentions of Kavin Bacon and his pelvic move in FOOTLOOSE, Drax’s one-track mind full of vengeance and nothing else in the planet, Rocket’s sarcastically grave attitude and Groot-the talking tree’s all time verbal communication restricted to just ‘I am Groot’ are some of the highlights that will leave you in splits. The slow-motion shots of heroic appearances by Rocket and the no-gravity space acts are incredible.

Overall, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a superhero film that stands out from the rest because of its feeble, flimsy yet charmingly colorful characters true to their hearts. They may not look a perfect team. They may unapologetically show off their flaws but together, they give you a MARVEL-ous time to be experienced on the big screen. Go for it! [4/5] 

GODZILLA: Monstrous Homage to good old-times! Revisit and relive… [3.5/5]

The creature porno is probably one of the very first impressions I had of Hollywood. As small-town kids, then JURASSIC PARK was our only point of high-on-excitement source of entertainment on VHS. GODZILLA (’98), though wasn’t much ably equipped & remarkable to overshadow Steven Spielberg’s classic, was the second most popular in the segment. Evolution is what time offers to the mankind. 16 years later, this mammoth creature known for mass destruction and damages that bring your guts out is again on loose, only to bigger the excitement and better the entertainment.

Gareth Edwards’ GODZILLA works mostly on the fear of unknown. You never actually see him rising to its fullest till the later part of the movie. You’re always made sure of its presence being felt around from the first frame but as quick as the plot goes thicken, Godzilla’s found track gets all hazy and blurred with shifting focus from this one legendary monster to a couple […and a quite romantic one] of new additions; gigantic Mutos. Mutos that find their energy-boosters in radioactive materials and are capable enough to gulp down all the electricity, Las Vegas would need to produce its glamorously lit shine & sheen.

The winged male Muto and the mechanical-looking female Muto must get stopped before they could breed another set of Mutos to create massive destruction of human civilization. The only way out is nuclear detonation but hold your horses as this newer version of GODZILLA is also a gifted surprise. So if you are going in with pre-conceived expectations of having just another monster-movie, you might come out enjoying a super-hero flick. And this super-hero is none other than the age-old bulky-scaly Godzilla!

Where the second part is mainly dedicated to the nerve-wracking, nail-biting and terrifying final combat between the three monsters, the first half is quite a slow effort to build up the most frightening situation mankind could ever face. Graphically constructed Godzilla is definitely bigger, better and scarier than its previous version. With the roar filled with angst, the thumping walk and the immeasurable scale of its huge built; this is the most evolved creature seen in recent times. If you could sustain the boredom at places while assembling all the excitement towards the much awaited intensifying of the leading force, you would sure find all of it worthy enough to stay back; at the end. 

On the 3D front, it is more of an atmospheric addition to be in the same league and not for just some attention-grabbing tricks to create fake experiences. So, don’t really expect much from that part. Performances are also strictly regular. The visual effects are top-notch. Watch out for the power-packed finale that leaves you breathless and filled with a delightful entertainment. After all, it’s better late than never! GODZILLA is a monstrous homage to good old times. Revisit and relive it! [3.5/5] 

KRRISH 3: Unimaginative, unoriginal, borrowed and a bigger disappointment! [2/5]

If you heard something like, “agar mera yeh experiment kaamyaab ho gaya, main yeh-main woh…” you should never be in doubts that you are watching a science-fiction movie (…from Bollywood ofcourse). But thrice?...in the whole 2 hour 33 min of duration filled with inspired yet uninspiring visual effects?? Really?? Then sure you ought to have your uncertainties on gravity of the skilled writing.

In other scene, when a superhero supposedly killed by the evil returns inexplicably or rather in a scientific breakthrough too suitable to sound plausible, a kid confronts the shocked & shaken baddie played by Vivek Oberoi as, “kyun? Phat gayi kya?”. Well, the audience laughed but I couldn’t as if we really want our kids to grow in such shape. Though eventually it is a family entertainer, Rakesh Roshan’s KRRISH 3 can’t be declared sole responsible for that but definitely for being least original, least entertaining & for shamelessly taking cues from the past hits of the west. On one hand, Sr. Roshan tries to woo you with extensive visual effects never seen before in India, but also never lets his gluttony go off to encash the Indian sentimental spree. So, the plot goes for the toss in order to swing aimlessly between the both!

Krishna (Hrithik Roshan in a tailor-made role) is trying his hard to balance his life in Mumbai with his father Rohit (Jr. Roshan again in a comparatively more charming role) & wife Priya (Priyanka Chopra in a regular), between his normal routine and the disappearing ‘superhero’ acts as Krrish to save people’s lives. Meanwhile, an evil mind named Kaal (Vivek Oberoi in a menacing character interestingly modeled on the similar lines of Sir Juda in Subhash Ghai’s KARZ) is busy creating an army of MAANVARs (Mutants from the fusion of humans with animals) to rule the world and regain his powers. Rest is all about how the two clash & collide with their own set of intentions to destroy buildings, demolish towers and make people (especially viewers more than the ones on screen) suffer not only physically but mentally and emotionally too.

Theoretically, a superhero movie needs an upper hand on the VFX front. KRRISH 3 fulfills that basic rule by creating some of the unseen effects in Indian cinema but ‘is that enough’ is the biggest question. There is not one single action/ VFX sequence in the film that comes with an ‘original’ tag…and I bet if you can show me at least one! I wish if the team of writers would have sit more on the plot to make it inspiring rather than deciding on what all effects we can borrow from Hollywood Hits to thrill the audience! KOI MIL GAYA has proved in the past that if incorporated smartly in the plot, even the emotional quotient would work as a strong share of interest, but sadly here in KRRISH 3 it was all done just for the sake of it. Novelty is gone already and now the sensibility too.

On the performance side, there is no second thought on Hrithik being the crowd puller. He maintains the level he has achieved. He charms you with his intensity, his ability and his skills as a complete performer. Vivek as Kaal is strictly average. Kangna as his one of the mutants has an interesting role to pull out. She is poised. She is confident. She is promising. Priyanka Chopra incidentally has nothing new to surprise.

In an advanced world of technology, where even kids have opened all the possible windows to access latest landmarks in the said field, I am not very sure if KRRISH 3 would be able to make it to their appreciation. It only makes you believe in an unsaid rule that medium can never rule out the message, especially if it is borrowed, clichéd, corny, tacky and unimaginative. Think twice before buying your tickets! [2/5]