GUNDAY: Drama drives a bumpy ride! Story thrown to back seat!! [2.5/5]

If 70’s hit box-office formula, exploited mercilessly later in 90’s, of macho-giri, hero-panthi & solid dialogue-baazi could still guarantee an out-sized rage in entertainment, YashRaj film’s GUNDAY would have easily been a winner all the way but what it misses out in translation is the unforeseen elements in the plot. So, GUNDAY- the saga of love, friendship & betrayal remains limited and disappoints for the most part.

In a GANGS OF WASSEYPUR-ish docudrama style of narration, Irrfan playing a confident cop takes us back in 1971’s Bangladesh where 2 young guns are forced to flee and find a shelter in Calcutta only to rise as the second most famous [infamous would do the justice] craze after the monumental Howrah Bridge. These so-called ‘local Robinhoods’ & the biggest goons of their times [Ranveer playing Bikram and Arjun being Bala] are into every illegal business in the list. So far so good, but then the next chain of events is not very tricky to track down when both fall in ‘sachche wala pyaar’ with the same girl [Priyanka Chopra sizzles as a cabaret dancer]. Film gets derailed from being a hardcore anti-hero film to bring down the dysfunctional system to a typical romantic triangle with an outdated pinch of betrayal and misunderstandings coming in the way of friendship and love.

Setting a story in 70’s-80’s brings plenty of interesting nuances in the plot to rejoice. Rajesh Khanna is mentioned as a superstar girls fall for, for more than once. Mithun da’s dance moves are hard to ignore in choreography. Bappi Lahiri’s voice is prominently used to catch the bong-connection. The colors and characters also smell rustic & next-door [One specific character can’t stop himself addressing his bloodthirsty rival as ‘dada’]. Obviously the direction is on the right track but obviousness in plot kills the grandness of GUNDAY. Why to borrow [Copy-paste] from storylines that are done-to-death? I don’t have any clue and I guess the thinking tanks behind this would also not have a justification.

Film if manages to hold your attention, despite being tad lengthy by at least 15-20 minutes, the credit goes to its production value which makes it a grandeur explosion of drama on screen, the performances mainly of Irrfan who is regular but delightfully charming with some of the cheesiest lines and an attitude that becomes skin to the character and last but not the least the high-voltage drama. Whatever happens here happens in a slow-motion technique. Everyone appears from a hazy-foggy-smoky background. Punches hit the chiseled body in high-speed. In the rest, Ranveer outshines with a good performance. Arjun impresses but not without showing limitations as an actor. Priyanka does it the way she’s known to.

Overall, Ali Abbas Jafar’s glorification of anti-heroes ends up in a lengthy bumpy ride that is enjoyable in parts, grand in looks but definitely not worthy enough to be a descendant of bygone era’s masala/mass entertainers. Watch it if your idea to celebrate Valentine’s Day is nothing else but to see two shirtless men fighting for one girl. [2.5/5]  

SAVING MR. BANKS: A fairly good film about a good fairytale on screen! [3.5/5]

Disney is celebrating its glorious 90 years in the magical world of entertainment. And to make this celebration even more endearing and rewarding, there could never be a better legend than the almost impossible unification of Walt Disney- the man himself & the old grumpy complaining writer of the famous ‘Mary Poppins’ stories Mrs. Travers; in order to bring the character alive on screen. John Lee Hancock’s SAVING MR. BANKS revisits the trying times in the acquaintance between the both. It is historical, humane, emotional, inspirational & much more to cinema-lovers than being just an enjoyable ride.

Mr. Walt Disney [deliciously played by Tom Hanks] has been trying to attain Mrs. Travers’ [marvelous Emma Thompson with a showsteeler performance] approval on the screen-rights to convert her most-loved novel in a live-animation motion picture from last 20 years. This year, Mrs. Travers has decided to reconsider her snubbing behavior and confirms to meet the team working on it but not without her never-ending list of objections in apprehension. Film narrates the plot in two parallel storylines, one being the present with Mrs. Travers’ annoying inhibitions in each & every developments in every aspect of film-making techniques and the other being the childhood memories of her relationship with her extremely caring but alcoholic father.

The more you spend time in the film you get to know the reasons why Mrs. Travers has been so anxious about little things mentioned and need to be altered in the writing for screen. We also identify the unsaid links between the essentials in Mary Poppins story and its bricks in the foundation from her emotionally shaken past. Though you always have it in the back of your mind that this association is going to happen at the end, the strongly unpredictable nature of proceedings makes you keep speculating how this would get materialized.

In the starcast, Colin Ferrell as Mrs. Travers’ alcoholic father who sure knows how to pamper his young daughters but not the money-driven world gives a moving performance. Paul Giamatti plays a good-humored chauffeur to Mrs. Travers and keeps the expectations fulfilled. Watch him where he explains why he is always excited with sudden change in weather. Tom Hanks as Walt Disney brings sheer energy in the air. It is a delightful portrayal of a nervous filmmaker who despite being a powerful name in the business, is forced to do compromises. But the film belongs solely to Emma Thompson. As an uncompromising stubborn old lady, she delivers an all praiseworthy performance. She makes an impression that could irritate you, make you laugh at her strange behavior but also stays with you long after leaving the theater.

Overall, John Lee Hancock’s SAVING MR. BANKS is a film for people who don’t restrict themselves from what only appears on big screen but also carry zeal & enthusiasm to know more about cinema and stories connected to each of them. Watch it to cherish the rock solid efforts behind the making of 1964’s classic fairytale MARY POPPINS! [3.5/5]

HASEE TOH PHASEE: Parineeti rules! Writing Rocks!! One of the most refreshing Rom-Com!! [3.5/5]

If I could really take my eyes off the extremely sweet, lovable, charming, carefree and magically inexplicable Parineeti Chopra in debutante Vinil Matthew’s ‘no non-sense’ romantic comedy HASEE TOH PHASEE, I would have certainly noticed the ‘time demands’ merger of one of the most celebrated production houses in the industry and the most promising pool of talents. No wonder the product in result comes out as one of the most refreshing, brilliantly acted, smartly written but quite a balanced in nature rom-com in recent.

It neither forces you with the typical candy floss boy-meets-girl feel with all those unreal slow-motion shots overflowing with foot-tapping song & dance numbers and forceful melodramatic complications in the storyline. Karan Johar style of cinema masters in that league. Nor it makes you feel drained out with insipid, self-indulged, dead existent stories with layered harsh reality what Anurag Kashyap school of cinema is known for. It stands somewhere in the middle of both.

Nikhil, played by Sidharth Malhotra is all set to loose his bachelorhood for his girlfriend Karisma [Adah Sharma] of 7 years. Just 7 days to the d-day & he happens to meet a girl from the bride-side who’s no one else but Karisma’s younger sister Meeta, played by the infectious livewire called Parineeti Chopra. She supposedly was a drug-addict. She has this weird syndrome that deals with different kind of sensations in body as described by her, “thartharahat, sarsarahat, sansanahat, gudgudahat, dagmagahat, farfarahat & more”. She takes pills to be active on life. She eats toothpastes. She blinks her eyes in a certain ‘in your face’ way. She talks faster than you imagine. She’s anything but the girl next door; still you will find it hard to look anywhere else if she’s there in the frame. You feel connected to the girl who is equally sentimental but confined & reserved in revealing the wounds from her past. Same goes with confused Nikhil who is now left with choices that could ruin or rule his life afterward.   

HASEE TOH PHASEE is a good mix of over-the-top Indian emotions with uber cool practicalities of today’s generation. So, if there is a ‘would-be Damaad’ asking for financial help from his ‘would-be Sasur’- a saree king, in the most unhesitant manner, you would also find a rigidly traditional family that could abandon their kid for life as she had once decided to run away from the house. Though the film couldn’t save itself from being conventional & convenient specifically in the storyline, it compensates that with the garden-fresh characters [Casting director Mukesh Chhabra deserves applause for giving apt faces to fill the requirement], believable performances, quirky-witty-smart writing [Harshvardhan Kulkarni takes the credit here] & a sense of pragmatism while dealing with the situations. Beautifully cinematographed & crisply edited! But the performances are above all especially Parineeti. She amazes, surprises & also manages to move your heart with her ‘blinking eyes’ presence on screen. Sidharth plays it highly confident and a total fit for the role.

At the end, it feels good to see that the genre of romantic comedy in Bollywood is getting blessed by good grown-up writing. Watch it if you want a nice break from regular romantic love-stories! Watch not if you still believe in unreal overdramatic romance only made for cinema-screens! [3.5/5]

12 YEARS A SLAVE: Dark, depressing, tragic tale of survival that fails to overcome & overwhelm! [3/5]

Sitting in an air-conditioned auditorium of a multiplex & holding a bucket full of buttered popcorn in one hand and the iced cola glass in the other, if I would dare to confirm that I could actually feel the pain of slavery in the proclaimed measure, either I would be lying or the creation is truly empathetic. I would save myself from going either ways. Steve McQueen’s potential sweepstake at Oscars and a real-life drama ’12 YEARS A SLAVE’ does make me uncomfortable with the impact of brutality in the storytelling. It also succeeds in evoking my angst against this unkind, inhuman ill-practice called slavery but not the way Tarantino orchestrate in DJANGO UNCHAINED or Spielberg embraces in AMISTAD & SCHINDLER’S LIST. I am not overwhelmed.

Based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is an inspiring survival saga of a free Negro’s journey through 12 years of unfortunate times in the custody of slavery. Kidnapped by two of his acquaintances, Solomon is now forced to live the life of a slave. His past as head of the happy family of a loving wife with 2 beautiful kids haunts him to make a run for life but the necessitate of survival keeps him forever on trade-board from one master [the generous & bighearted William Ford played by Benedict Cumberbatch] to another [Michael Fassbender playing Mr. Epps- strong believer of slavery and inequality of all kinds in human race]. Meanwhile every pain and sufferings Solomon and his people go through become a significant part of Solomon’s memoir.

12 YEARS A SLAVE doesn’t stick to linear narrative and moves back & forth on the timeline to create an effective after-effect of the change in circumstances. Film’s strength is definitely the ruthlessly real portrayal of brutality. Man & women getting stripped and whipped till their skin peels off and showing it on screen without having any apprehension is bad enough to make you feel gnashing your teeth in anger, desperation and anxiety. Background score makes varied impressions with thumping sounds, grasping silence and instrumentals that form ripples of emotions in you. Camerawork is superb. It takes out something from you in those horrific scenes of torture, rape and hopelessness and fills you in with conspicuous visuals in daylight especially.

All these and then the performances! Chiwetel Ejiofor is more than just flesh & bone to Solomon Northup. His gazing empty eyes with a little ray of hope to find everything in place in the end are totally engaging. He deserves every inch of Oscar trophy in the category. Film also gets a certain somber touch of realism with shots that long more than a couple of minutes. In one, you get to see Solomon being hanged by neck to a tree and he sweats like anything to find his feet on muddy surface. This one sequence goes on and on till you feel suffocated by yourself.

Good for some but then this less dramatic approach with all dark, depressing, gloomy feel & pace to it turns regular and routine after a point when nothing actually comes forward as a solid storyline and rests merely on series of incidents. Even the climax comes out of nowhere and merges into the end very conveniently. The actual events might have happened like that but if not cherished as awe-inspiring celebration of life at the end, it would be difficult to rejoice as a good comfortable viewing. Watch it for the performances! [3/5] 

ONE BY TWO: Some ‘Khushfahemiyaan’ result in ‘Galatfehmiyaan’! This is one of those! [1.5/5]

Go for any ‘picture perfect’ picturesque postcard of your preferred dream-destination and try to imagine looking at it for longer period of time [Precisely 2 hour and 19 minutes in this case] and no matter how strongly you wanted to be at that place, you will end up falling in the fear of loathing it with tremendous boredom. Screenplay writer Devika Bhagat’s début directorial venture ONE BY TWO is that very beautiful montage of tranquil but lifeless frames that doesn’t decide to move at all and stands still till you decide to walk away.

ONE BY TWO is an urban rom-com about 2 individuals, best described as ‘clichéd fools’, sharing monotonous boring lives of same intensity in its own. Amit Sharma, played by Abhay Deol is stuck in his life-cubicle with a couple of vigorously influential friends, overtly affectionate mother, a totally ‘deserved to be overlooked’ father and his soon-to be-an ‘Ex’ girlfriend. On the other, Samara Patel [Abhay’s real life love-interest Preeti Desai] is torn between an alcoholic divorcee mother and her sky high ambitions to rock the stage in a dance-reality show. Now, there is nothing in the story that could show off a ‘New & Fresh’ tag to it. You have seen it all in more than few romantic comedies on Indian screen.

Though the approached manner of filmmaking smells spanking new with less dramatic situations, concisely crisp dialogues straight from the horse’s mouth with flavors being genuine, real and almost unwritten but in a way, it is too simple, ordinary and pathetically slow-paced to be entertained. Film does have enjoyable moments, by and large with Abhay Deol being the person in charge but not sufficient in numbers. Watch him playing the popular ‘Nirma’ jingle on guitar in desperate times after his break-up. In other, he performs on ‘I am Pakao’ed´ in his boxers when his potential in-laws come to approve him of being an eligible son-in-law.

With sharp hands on editing beautifully amalgamated with promising narrative pattern, skilled cinematography and neat-clean-classy art direction, film paints scenic frames on screen but not without a long-list of ‘ifs & buts’. Story rejects to move ahead. Situations are dragged and absolute run-of-the mill. Leave the impeccably adorable and talented Abhay aside and the ‘known for it’ performers [Rati Agnihotri, Jayant Kriplani, Lillete Dubey, Darshan Jariwala] ham like there’s no tomorrow. Preeti Desai looks good on screen, is confident but that doesn’t get translated much on screen when it comes to acting. Pace is killing. Length is drastically stretched.

On the whole, Devika Bhagat’s ONE BY TWO is not bad because it is bad but worse because it ruins the option and opportunity to redefine the ‘not much explored’ genre of ‘easy-on the head’ urban romantic comedy sliced from the lives of cool, carefree & casual generation of today’s times. Would it not have located its base on the clichés, it could have been much better. Samara Patel enforces in the film, “I don’t believe in fairytales. Real life is better”, I wish Devika had taken it seriously while putting it all on the paper. Some ‘Khushfahemiyaan’ result in ‘Galatfehmiyaan’. You don’t get mislead. [1.5/5]              

JAI HO: Prabhu Dheva-meets-Sooraj Barjatya! Being SUPER human-sans-common sense!! [2/5]

Do not dare to complain. You had seen it coming. Didn’t the character of Salman Khan warn you in the promos itself that “Aam Aadmi ek sota hua Sher hai, ungli mat kar…jag gaya toh cheer-phaad dega”? Only problem is that the film in question JAI HO decides to take the same salient statement in a very literal sense and not in what it actually intended to be.

So, this ‘Aam Aadmi’ stands nowhere near the classification of a common man, projected & presented well in recent Delhi state elections. But this common man played by the mass hysteria Salman Khan, largely called as ‘Bhai’ does have an overcrowded family with mother & sister ready to participate wholeheartedly in the proceedings as soft targets of evil forces…and whenever that happens, ‘Bhai’ takes a drastic transformation from ‘Being human’ to ‘Being SUPER human’ with the immense power of an incredible hulk like creature who roars loud to deafen your ears, nails his teeth deep in the veins of his enemies and even goes shirtless to make his fans go wild and frenzy over his gigantic stature.

An official remake of Chiranjeevi Starrer Telugu blockbuster ‘STALIN’, again a inspired version of Hollywood drama PAY IT FORWARD, Sohail Khan’s JAI HO [earlier titled as MENTAL] is a film good at heart because of the social message it carries to help out at least three people instead just saying a ‘thank you’ in return of anyone’s help but turns sore, cliché & tiresome with the route it takes to communicate the same. When it is good, it is as sugary as Sooraj Barjatya’s heavily traditional family entertainers. When it is bad, it is as unendurable as Prabhu Dheva’s mindless action-thrillers. Avid movie-watchers can vouch for the both being a non-entertainer.  

And then the regular dosage of absolutely inane & offensive jokes! Calling names like ‘Chhota Chooha’ when our leading lady sees a bathing kid without clothes and to make it equal, the kid calling her ‘Pinky’ as, in one of her odd days, she somehow authenticates wearing pink colour undergarments, if this is the height of efforts to make us laugh, I refuse and retaliate to be entertained. Trust me; soon you’ll hear these terms in your zone and Mr. Khan will not be there to protect you with his own fans.

JAI HO is one such film where actors on screen for lesser time look less exasperating than others, to earn comparatively less disapproval and more regards for their ‘short & sweet’ performances. You see so much of known faces in every character on screen that if I put their full names in written here, a 1-page review would need at least 20-odd pages of a coffee-table book to fit in and that in case when their performances don’t bring much to say.

Tabu makes a comeback sort and is good to see but definitely deserves better writing support to match her skills. Nadira Babbar is known for her excellence in theatre but as the mother, she only earns yawns here. Pathetic is the word. Daisy Shah doesn’t get much to appreciate than her dancing skills in the introduction scene. One powerhouse of talent is the Child Artist Naman Jain. See his confidence in comic timings to believe.

And now the man himself! Well, Salman is Salman. No one plays him better than he himself. He does things he believes in. His self-indulgence shows on screen and that is what his fans love to watch. Who am I to come between the God and his die-hard followers? All I can say to rest my case is that JAI HO is a confused platter of spicy southern curries with extra-mild Jain recipes. Better avoid ordering! [2/5]

AMERICAN HUSTLE: A Delicious comic-con film that is not so common con film! Delightful Watch!! [4/5]

With an opening line that says “Some of this actually happened”, David O. Russell’s Oscar Nominated crime-comedy drama AMERICAN HUSTLE turns out to be one of the most delightful con films I have seen. Credit goes to the categorically best ensemble star-cast that serves you with the most delicious performances you have ever tasted. This is one of those films that have an interesting brigade of actors playing juicy, buoyant and dynamic characters you take home for a very very long time in your heart.

When Richard DiMaso- an FBI agent [played by Bradley Cooper] busted the illegit exercises of 2 con-artistes Irving Rosenfeld [Christian Bale] and Sydney Prosser [Amy Adams] in cheating people with fake impersonation of a loan approval agency, he didn’t have the slightest notion in his weirdest dream that his assessment to go a step further & entail these two in his operation to capture some more big shots on camera could be a heart-piercing roller-coaster ride of his lifetime.

Christian Bale again surprises you with his extensive physical transformation as a paunchy, bald & aging Irving Rosenfeld swaying and swinging between his new partner-in-crime Sydney and his wife-in-broken marriage Rosalyn [played by Jennifer Lawrence]. He is a smartass but don’t expect him to be other than just a rotten husband when he is with his big-mouthed unreasonable wife. Watch him in the opening scene where he is busy dressing his hair-streaks to conceal the bald surface. He’s terrific.

Amy Adams plays the other con-artist in love with Irving but after revelation that he is a married guy, wants to move out in desperation only to find a possible match in Richie- the FBI guy. She shows extreme confidence in her character with a ‘go-get it’ attitude with a flair of jealousy & resentment in parts.

Bradley Cooper’s enthusiastic, animated & restless Richie provides good laugh especially in an on-going gag with his superior agent where the later tells him a story about his father and brother…and the fidgety Cooper tries his hands every time to guess the end & find the moral behind it but ends up maddening him even more.

Jennifer Lawrence charms the screen as thousands of neon gets lit in one spark. Though she played a typical ‘never in control’ housewife with her ‘god only knows’ analysis of situations, she oozes you with her frivolous facetious attitude. Watch her in the side-splitting ‘microwave’ scene. Jeremy Runner Plays a sober, well-intended mayor who gets trapped while striving to do better for their people. Robert De Nero’s cameo as the mob-head is a satisfying surprise.

Getting these many dominant faces in one frame or film is not the only highlight of David O Russell’s AMERICAN HUSTLE. The writing with witty lines, remarkable characters, the performances, set & production design with eyes of detailing, impressive direction, not-so-overdramatic twists in the tale and last but not the least, the emotional inconsistency in every character, as Irving says in the film, “not everyone is black or white but grey”, are what make this story of changing sides in the game of love & hustling people set in corrupt political scenario not just any other common con film but a delicious Comic-Con movie you’ll enjoy thoroughly! [4/5]