TAMASHA: A Bioscope to life, and to your ‘self’ within! [3.5/5]

I dare not go any sentence further in approving Imtiaz Ali’s most personal artistic take on love, life and limitless conflicting conditions around the both, before having a word of strict advice for you that TAMASHA is not an easy watch. It neither is just another ‘boy-meets-girl’ love-story to write, shoot, edit and release. Only an Imtiaz Ali can helm the project of such risky, self-destructive and boomerang-like nature; and my suggestions here are heading towards Imtiaz Ali of today and not of pre-ROCKSTAR. If JAB WE MET and SOCHA NA THA were busy twisting the lighter side of love, if ROCKSTAR and HIGHWAY were falling for the darker region; TAMASHA is a multihued psychological exercise to reinvent, reestablish and renew your ‘self’ under mystically painful care and custody of love. TAMASHA is not an extravagant, star-studded, all flashy WIZCRAFT production of a celebrity world-tour but a cute, tiny, little bioscope which immediately transports you to the world of your dreams and your aspirations; where you’re the ‘Tamasha’ and not just a sitting idle spectator.  

In the very earliest scenes, Imtiaz makes Piyush Mishra playing an older than the old storyteller in the film mouth an exposition when he mixes up with two different stories of worlds poles apart, “toh pareshaani kya hai? The story is always the same. Do not fall for their names, places and other details. Just sit back and enjoy.” and that’s enough to hint you about the most predictable plot one can have for a love-story. Boy meets girl, on the beautiful locations in Corsica, France. They decide not to reveal their identities and be complete strangers to each other. Both part their ways. Four years down, the girl still in awe of the vibrant personality of the boy reaches to him. He is now succumbed to the all emotionless, motorized and mechanical race of the corporate world. The girl rejects the new bore. The dejected boy is now looking for a new end to his story. After all, it is never too late to start a fresh. Now as an easy entertainment seeker, you may voice a question that why always the same story, even the tagline on the posters suggests the same but then, I think TAMASHA was never about the story. It doesn’t take the easy route with over-simplified solutions to the monstrous-looking problems but decides to go on the ‘self-discovery’ mode to find some of the toughest answers only you and life can juice it out together.

There are more than a couple of reasons when I call Imtiaz the new-age ‘Yash Chopra’. The way he makes it happen, the way he breaks into the susceptible space of separation and the way he paints the pain, is meticulously relatable, unswerving and apt. He hardly creates a situation; he just opens up another unseen layer buried deep within his characters. Apart from the dialogues that rarely sound anything written, scrumptious camerawork, soul-pleasing soundtrack by A R Rahman and imaginatively decorated lyrics by Irshad Kamil, TAMASHA marks towering performances from both the leads. Though the film belongs more to Ranbir Kapoor’s character in the central role, let me honor Deepika Padukone first to talk about. The cranky, complaining independent girl of PIKU here shows off her complete different avatar in a more edgy, persuasive and in pain character of an anxious lover. You don’t have to make an extra effort to notice some of her atypical expressions you sure haven’t seen anywhere else. If she effortlessly makes your heart bleed in ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’, she also steals it with her sparkling eyes even while being utterly there in playful conversations with Ranbir.  And now the boy himself! TAMASHA brings back Ranbir in the race. The inconsistent ‘velvet’y touch is forgiven and forgotten. The all new and fresh Kapoor shifts gears like a pro. The bathroom scene, the story-telling session at home, the apology scene; there are moments that will haunt you even after full night sleeps in the next couple of days. Undoubtedly, one of the best performances this year!

Despite going into a self-pleasing theatrical mode and uncommonly imprecise scenes of creative satisfaction, Imtiaz earns full marks on taking the risk most of the filmmakers today hesitate. Otherwise, who would dare to compose scenes with profile shots of the leads when they are busy sporting the most unforced yet intricate emotions on their face? TAMASHA is not flawless. TAMASHA is not regular. TAMASHA is inspiring. TAMASHA is mesmeric. TAMASHA is a journey you should take at least once in a lifetime to make it all right you couldn’t dare all these years. [3.5/5]     

PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO: Once upon a time….zzzZZZ! [1.5/5]

Enough said about films that still fall [in literal sense] for 80’s/90’s standard set of emotions to put the cash-registers ringing at the box-office! No, they aren’t nostalgic anymore. Do not hide your sorry state of creative drought behind the curtains of so-called ‘classic age-old charm’! Kings do exist in today’s world; I am aware of some leading that extravagant life in those grand forts of the ‘half palace-half heritage hotel’ nature but trust me, there is no ‘Praja’ in any part of the country that dresses homogeneously in pink sarees and in white kurta-dhoti. But for that tiny little piece of insight, Sooraj R. Barjatya needs to get up from his dining table which serves a daily dose of ‘Sanskar’ more than the reality. Rajshri Productions Pvt Ltd’s PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO is the most confused film I have come across in my life. It neither bores you with its trademark spell of ‘gyaan’ on true Indian values in a ‘softer than melting cheese’ tone nor does tickle you with the all well-bred, polite and ‘cultured’ idea of romance.

PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO comes from the house of traditions where a copy of Ramayana should constantly be there on your study table, no matter how old or young you are. Though the plot takes its cues from THE PRISONER OF ZENDA- an 1894 novel by Anthony Hope and Mark Twain’s THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, you can easily find the inspirations and the aspirations straight from the Ramayana. The king of ‘Whatever-pur’ [Sameer Dharmadhikari] had 3 wives like King Dashrath had. Two of the wives being legal and one being often called as ‘mashooka’ of the king, there sure is plenty scope of step-brothers and step-sisters to deal with.

So, the elder son Vijay [Salman Khan] has Ajay [Neil Nitin Mukesh], Chandrika [Swara Bhaskar], Radhika [Aashika Bhatia] as his step-siblings and all the setbacks a family of such nature could have. Just a couple of days before his coronation; the prince meets a schemed fatal accident and now, the trustworthy associates [Anupam Kher and gang] have no other choices left but to replace him with his look-alike Prem [Salman, again] to save the situation. Sonam Kapoor plays Maithili- the princess engaged to the real prince but is now reinventing love in the fake one.

PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO is a shoddily directed film where the scale is intentionally big but the soul in the content hardly makes an appearance. Film opens in Ayodhya (a dream location for Rajshri] where Prem is seen switching his accent carelessly and shamelessly from Awadhi to Rajasthani. The battleground for the plot supposedly finds its root in a location 50 Kms away from Ayodhya but can clearly be judged as some rocky royal place in Rajasthan. Aren’t Google maps free to double-check? It’s not that Sooraj doesn’t show any evolution in his mind. There is a constant joke on Anupam Kher being a virgin and I think that’s an achievement for a Rajshri film. So what if in the same film, the cleavage showing girl has to be the wicked one or vice-a-versa and the short-skirts can only be worn behind the closed doors. In a scene; when asked by a reporter if the coronation is not an out-dated procedure in today’s times, the prince intimidates him with, “do you think traditions are funny?” I wish I could answer on his behalf, “No sire, they aren’t funny but looking at what you [Mr. Barjatya] suggest, they are definitely too plain, painful, pale and pointless to be on screen”.

On the performances, I would not dare rate Mr Salman Khan. Though he’s completely comfortable and contented in his zone, his fans would certainly miss a lot of his ‘I don’t give a damn’ mannerism and slapstick action. Sonam Kapoor tries hard, as usual. Arman Kohli as one of the conspirators looks all bulky, grisly and ‘suit’able to the part but acts no better than Neil Nitin Mukesh. Deepak Dobriyal impresses in a scene or two. Swara is so typecast you would hardly notice if she’s from the sets of RAANJHNAA. And what was Sanjai Mishra doing here?

At the end, I don’t see why and how this PREM RATAN DHAN PAYO will entertain families in today’s times especially when there is no ‘Sanskar’ to look up to, no ‘Prem’ to feel shivers of emotion and no cinema [apart from the grand sets and the heavily aspirational designer clothing] to at least calm your senses. There is a scene having a camel gulping down Salman’s diary and suddenly Salman starts calling it ‘Kamil’ for no rhyme and reason. Well, Kamil is none other than the lyricist of the film Irshad Kamil and the joke is not at him but at the makers as how ‘Sanskari’ you are towards your people of strength! Anything 3-hr long can be a drag but this one sets the milestone. ‘Raja-rani ki kahani’ still works to put you to sleep! [1.5/5]

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]

प्यार का पंचनामा 2 : ‘मर्दों’ की फिल्म, ‘मर्दों’ के लिए ! [1.5/5]

पंचनामा यानी पोस्टमार्टम अकसर मरने या मारे जाने के बाद की प्रक्रिया होती है, जिसमें इस विषय के जानकार लोग ‘कारण और प्रभाव’ के तमाम पहलुओं की छानबीन कर किसी एक ठोस नतीजे पर पहुँचते हैं. अब प्यार का पंचनामा हो रहा है तो ये दोहराने की जरूरत नहीं होनी चाहिए कि प्यार पहले से ही मर चुका है, या मार दिया जा चुका है. अब तो बस उसका पोस्टमार्टम हो रहा है, तो लोगों को ज्यादा संवेदनशील होने की भी जरूरत नहीं है. तकलीफ बस इतनी है कि लव रंजन अपनी फिल्म ‘प्यार का पंचनामा २’ में अपनी सारी ताकत सिर्फ ये कायम करने में झोंक देते हैं कि इन सब के पीछे कसूरवार सिर्फ लड़कियां हैं. लड़कियां बेवकूफ हैं, लड़कियां मतलबी हैं, लड़कियां धोखेबाज़ और झूठी भी हैं. और लड़के, उस सीधी गाय की तरह जिसे अपने कटने-बंटने और बिकने पर चल रही गन्दी राजनीति की भनक भी नहीं.

गो-गो [कार्तिक आर्यन] चीकू [नुसरत भरुचा] के साथ पहली बार मिल रहा है. पता है? उसका फ़ेवरेट फ्रूट चीकू है. खाने में भी उसे चीकू से बनी हुई चीजें ही ऑर्डर करनी हैं मसलन चीकू सूप. टेबल की दूसरी ओर हाड़-मांस से बनी चीकू की हंसी गो-गो के मसखरेपन पर रुक ही नहीं रही. और मुझे आ ही नहीं रही. ठाकुर [ओंकार कपूर] की ठकुराईन [इशिता शर्मा] नए ज़माने की उन लड़कियों में से है, जिसे अपनी सहूलियत के हिसाब से डिनर का बिल आधा-आधा करते वक़्त तो ‘औरतों की पुरुषों से बराबरी’ का सिद्धांत समझ आता है पर महंगे आई-फ़ोन पर अपने बॉयफ्रेंड का क्रेडिट कार्ड इस्तेमाल करते वक़्त ज्यादा हो-हल्ला नहीं मचातीं. बाकी बचे चौक्के [सनी सिंह] को फुर्सत ही नहीं सुप्रिया [सोनाली सहगल] के घर पर उसके माँ-बाप का सारा काम करने से, इस उम्मीद पर कि एक दिन सुप्रिया सही वक़्त देखकर उन्हें अपने प्यार के बारे में बता देगी. अब इन तीनों प्रेम-कहानियों में ये तीनों भोले-भाले लड़के इन तीनों लड़कियों के चंगुल में बुरी तरह फंसे नज़र आते हैं.         

लव रंजन की ‘प्यार का पंचनामा २’ अपनी पहली पेशकश को ही भुनाने की एक और कोशिश से ज्यादा कुछ नहीं है. ये उस एक जोकबुक की तरह है, जिसके सारे तो नहीं पर ज्यादातर चुटकुले एकरस, एकतरफा और जबरदस्ती के ठूंसे हुए हैं. गिनती की अच्छी परफॉरमेंस, सधा हुआ डायरेक्शन और कुछ सचमुच अच्छे और हंसी भरे संवादों के अलावा, ये फिल्म बहुत देर तक आपको बांधे नहीं रख पाती. ‘‘प्यार का पंचनामा २’ देखते वक़्त मुझे गुजरे ज़माने की उन फिल्मों की याद बहुत आई, जिनमें सीधी-सादी बहु पूरी फिल्म में दुष्ट सास के जुल्म सहती रहती है. फर्क सिर्फ इतना है, उनमें बहु को बचाने कोई न कोई भलामानस क्लाइमेक्स तक चला ही आता था, वरना दोनों ही फिल्मों को देखने में मानसिक कष्ट ज्यादा होता है. फिल्म को और तकलीफदेह बना देता है जबरदस्ती की गालियों से भरे इसके संवाद, जो उनके किरदारों के हिसाब से तो एकदम सटीक हैं पर सेंसर बोर्ड से ‘म्यूट’ होने के बाद सिर्फ चिडचिडाहट पैदा करते हैं, और कुछ नहीं. अगर हम एक ‘एडल्ट’ फिल्म देख रहे हैं तो बेहतर नहीं होता कि किरदार कुछ संजीदा और सयाने ‘एडल्ट’ विषयों पर बात कर रहे होते बजाय इसके कि पूरी फिल्म में सिर्फ ‘मेरी मार लो’ और ‘मैं चू** हूँ’ की ढपली बजा रहे हैं? लेकिन फिर, ‘एडल्ट’ को हम इसी एक नजरिये से तो देखते आये हैं.

कार्तिक आर्यन के सात मिनट लम्बे ‘नारी-विरोधी’ संवाद-सीन को और सनी सिंह के ईमानदार अभिनय को अगर छोड़ दें, तो फिल्म में ढेरों ऐसी वजहें हैं जो इसे एक ‘नीरस, उबाऊ और अपमानजनक’ फिल्म बनाती हैं. ओंकार कपूर [‘छोटा बच्चा जान के’ के बाल कलाकार] के अभिनय-प्रयास पर अगर उनकी गाढ़ी-घनी-रोबदार भौंहें ग्रहण लगा देती हैं तो नुसरत का ‘ओवर द टॉप’ अभिनय परेशान ही करता है. फिल्म के तमाम दृश्यों में उसके किरदार प्यार-मुहब्बत और शादी को सेक्स से जोड़ कर देखते हैं, और इस हद तक कि जब उनका गुस्सा फूटता है तो लड़कों को ‘अपने हाथ’ से ही शादी कर लेने की सलाह तक दे डालते हैं. फिल्म और फिल्म के लेखक-निर्देशक लव रंजन [हमने फिल्म-मेकिंग के कुछ सबक साथ ही में सीखे हैं] मेरी बधाई के पात्र होते, ग़र उन्होंने फिल्म के अंत में तीनों दोस्तों को समलैंगिकता की तरफ झुकते हुए दिखाने का साहस किया होता, क्यूंकि लड़कियां तो बेवकूफ हैं, मतलबी हैं, धोखेबाज़ हैं! [1.5/5]              

JAZBAA: Not all Greens are good! [2/5]

The reason behind a remake can be disciplined into more than one intention or culpable justification. Recreating the success story at the box-office now in your favor [HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN…! tops the list] is one. Blessing the original with a new perspective to instate your radical creative expression [DEV D could be the most genre-defining example] is other. Meanwhile, some choose to be unapologetically lazy to create anything at their own. Calculatedly, Sanjay Gupta’s JAZBAA is a lethal combination belonging to each one of the above given grounds but unintentionally it proves to be one of those lame efforts that make the original look a classic while it wasn’t. JAZBAA is nothing but the return of a ‘stuck in his own world’ filmmaker who believes more in styling their actors than in making them dive into the characters they are playing on-screen, to a great deal of depth.

Looking at the vital components in the plot, Korean thriller ‘SEVEN DAYS’ was a perfect film destined to be remade by Sanjay Gupta at any given time. Tainted characters, twisted plot and the dark world of crime to deal with; Gupta has always a ‘green’ eye for such vulnerable subject. Criminal lawyer and a single-parent Anuradha Verma [Mrs Rai Bachchan] never minds taking false cases from evidently guilty clients as only they can afford her services and not the innocent ones. Though we rarely see her best foot being put forward in the court scenes, the tag of being an advocate with 100% success record is forced-feed to us very conveniently. One day, her daughter goes missing and now the abductor wants her to take the case of a rapist and murderer [Chandan Roy Sanyal] and bring him back alive from the death ropes. Anuradha has a ticking bomb in her hands that makes her run, jump and chase to save her daughter. Suspended corrupt cop Yohaan [Irrfan] is the only helping shadow by her side.

Sanjay Gupta with Robin Bhatt doesn’t feel any shame in lifting clues and cues from its original Korean film. While the original has managed to stick on the plot as a plain crime thriller, Gupta does make an effort to make it socially relevant film by raising the burning issue of rapes in India. He makes his characters speak about it. He ends the film with stats and facts about the issue. And this was the only addition apart from the veteran Kamlesh Pandey’s verbal punches but the way Sanjay Gupta deals with it; I think it declines more on the ‘exploitation’ side. Gupta gives you all shiny and well-styled characters that wear sunglasses even at the darkest places on earth, show off their ‘killer’ attitude through the cheesy one-liners that could easily get turned into a cheap ‘Whats App’ picture message and cry out so loud you would start feeling sorry more for your eardrums than her pain. Here, even the most insignificant characters treat you as the punching bag in their drawing room and keep throwing at you heavily philosophical lines about life, death and what not.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in her comeback shows magical sparks in her presence on screen like the way she always has in her. No matter how intense or depressing the scene is, you could never turn aside your eyes from appreciating her flawless beauty. You can count the same a negative in a performance based role like this. Irrfan plays it ultra-cool and takes away all the claps and whistles every time he talks something utter meaningless yet massy lines. Shabana Azmi is as melodramatic as she could be yet her being in the frame itself brings more credence, power and life altogether. Jackie Shroff, Atul Kulkarni, Abhimanyu Singh and Chandan Roy Sanyal are wasted.

In an interesting scene, Irrfan beats a guy when he asks for his right not to be arrested by a suspended cop. Irrfan makes it clear then and there that it is no Hollywood film but a Bollywood one where anything can happen. JAZBAA could have been a good thriller if the melodrama, styling, obsessively done color-correction and uninspiring background sound would have not shadowed the more significant aspect of the filmmaking i.e. honest storytelling. Wait till it premiers on TV and you might enjoy the latest addition in Bollywood’s ‘Khan-brigade’ with all the required swag; Irrfan! [2/5]             

SINGH IS BLIING: Bad, boorish and boring! [1.5/5]

Placing a graphical ‘homage’ plate belonging mostly to the financer’s/the producer’s departed family members just before the movie actually starts is an everyday fashion in Bollywood. The movie doesn’t really require to believe in following ethics and morals the ‘ever smiling’ gentleman in the picture might have been practicing all his life but his blessings are always needed there as if only that can ensure the pleasant monetary shower at the box-office. Now, I would like to see some bollywood films to carry an added plate of ‘RIP Cinema’ as they seldom show any hint of having the same in nature, intent and content. PrabhuDheva’s SINGH IS BLIING should be considered the leading light for putting this into practice. Leave cinema as the technique alone, this one doesn’t bother to get down to the nitty-gritty of filmmaking process i.e. story, plot and screenplay. It only marks an infertile collaboration of two so-called creative minds who think they can pull out any shit under the prestigious tag of entertainment.

SINGH IS BLIING in its name itself denies any promise to gift you anything logical or digestible. Raftaar Singh [Khiladi Kumar] is a 45 year plus blockhead who can plant a dog with artificial coat of fur when the real lion goes missing. And is also an English illiterate who won’t move an inch if you just throw the word ‘go’ at him and don’t signal with your hands. I wonder if the ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan’ is really a success or the Punjab shown in the film is actually on Mars! Meanwhile, a Romanian girl Sara [Amy Jackson] has to come to India [comfortably in Goa] as some crazyhead gangster [Kay Kay Menon] wants her life for I don’t recall why. Raftaar is now guarding her body with two equally irritating friends from Punjab and a geeky translator [Lara Dutta, actually and only one funny]. What follows next can never be described as a storyline. There are only a number of skits put together to reach an average film’s length. The girl has also a hidden agenda to search for her separated mommy. Raftaar has to take her Punjab for exactly 4 scenes and a song. The love-story between an English ignorant and the exact opposite girl blooms over annoying conversations full of miscommunication and more than 60% of it being subtitled in Hindi. And then; a side-track involving Lara and the two supporting comedians where Lara sleepwalks [Why to only blame her if everyone else also does the same in the film?] and crushes both’s manhood responsible for reproduction purposes with coconut! Painful it is. For viewers too!

PrabhuDheva’s rotten idea of comedy gels perfectly with the mannerism-driven physical buffoonery Akshay Kumar brings on screen. He is cool, casual and confident about him playing a Mr. Beans with turban. With no rhyme or reason, Kumar and Prabhu both keep exploiting the Sikh-sentiments throughout the film. Amy Jackson as the goon-bashing girl is narrowed to speak in accented English and is never forced to try Hindi dialogues. Strategy to save some nuisance successful! Kay Kay Menon looks out still stuck in his DRONA days. In his limited role, he’s limited too. The son of Shashi Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor [of VIJETA fame] makes a guest appearance and does succeed in reminding his father’s on-screen charisma and presence in flares and flashes. Lara Dutta plays it very outlandish; but trust me, it works very well in favor of the character’s guts. Her character might go main lead from the supporting cast if someone behind the writing desk could identify the hidden potential there.

Overall, SINGH IS BLIING is nothing but a smart selling idea to encash the success of SINGH IS KINGG. The next offering in the series could be anything under the name ‘SINGH IS FLING’ or ‘SINGH IS CLING’. After all, who cares what it means? The film sees ‘Grazing Goat Pictures’ credited for the story. Now, I can imagine why. Who would want to get associated with such inadmissible, unfortunate and regrettable piece of writing? Avoidable! [1.5/5]           

तलवार : साल की सबसे बेहतरीन फिल्मों में से एक ! [4.5/5]

सबूतों, गवाहों और उनके बयानों के मद्देनजर सच को तलाशने की जुगत में अपनी भावनाओं को अलग रख कर एक तटस्थ माध्यम बने रहना बहुत ही मुश्किल है. हम जो देखना चाहते हैं, जो सुनना चाहते हैं और जो मानना चाहते हैं, उसी के इर्द-गिर्द सच्चाई की परिकल्पना तैयार करने में लग जाते हैं. हैरत की बात नहीं, जब एक ही घटना से जुड़े तमाम लोगों का सच एक-दूसरे से एकदम अलग दिखाई और सुनाई देने लगते हैं. मेघना गुलज़ार की ‘तलवार’ हमारी पुलिस, कानून और न्याय व्यवस्था पर एक ऐसा तंज है, जो अपनी बात रखने के लिए सनसनीखेज तरीकों का इस्तेमाल बिलकुल नहीं करती और सच्चाई के करीब रहने की एक भरपूर और कामयाब कोशिश करती है. सच्ची और रोमांचक आपराधिक कहानियों पर आपने बहुत सी फिल्में देखीं होंगी, अच्छी भी, बुरी भी पर ‘तलवार’ जिस ख़ामोशी और ईमानदारी से आपको डराने, सचेत करने और गुस्सा दिलाने में सक्षम साबित होती है, कोई और फिल्म उस ऊंचाई तक पहुँचने का साहस ही नहीं कर पाती.

नोएडा, उत्तर प्रदेश में आरुषि हत्याकांड के घटनाक्रमों से प्रेरित, मेघना गुलज़ार की ‘तलवार’ बिना किसी की तरफदारी किये आपके सामने घटना का सिलसिलेवार ब्यौरा कुछ इस तरह रखती है, जैसे अकीरा कुरोसावा की फिल्म ‘रशोमोन’. जैसे-जैसे घटनाक्रम अपने तौर-तरीके, रंग-रूप और हाव-भाव  बदलती है, हमारा नजरिया, हमारी सोच, किरदारों के प्रति हमारी वफादारी भी उतनी ही तेज़ी से पलटती दिखाई देती है. पेशे से डॉक्टर, टंडन दम्पति [नीरज कबी और कोंकणा सेन] की 14-वर्षीया एकलौती बेटी की लाश उसके ही कमरे में मिली है. शुरूआती जांच में लापरवाह पुलिस का शक घर के नौकर पर जाता है, जिसकी गैरमौजूदगी ही उसके मुजरिम होने का सबूत मान लिया जाता है. पुलिस की हडबडाहट तब बढ़ जाती है जब नौकर की लाश दो दिन बाद उसी घर की छत पर मिलती है. आनन-फानन में पुलिस अपने अधकचरे सबूतों के बल पर डॉक्टर-दम्पति को ही एक प्रेस-कांफ्रेंस के जरिये अपराधी घोषित कर देती है. टीवी में न्यूज़ पैनल पर बैठे दिग्गजों और सामने बैठे हम ड्रामा-पसंद भारतीयों को वैसे भी हमेशा से ऐसा ही सच भाता रहा है जिसमें कुछ सनसनीखेज हो, और फिर इस खुलासे में तो आंतरिक सम्बन्धों, रिश्तों में कालापन और भावुकता से लबरेज मसालों की कोई कमी ही नहीं थी. बहरहाल, जांच का जिम्मा अब CDI [क्रिमिनल डिपार्टमेंट ऑफ़ इन्वेस्टीगेशन] के पास है, जिसकी बागडोर काबिल ऑफिसर कुमार [इरफ़ान खान] संभाल रहे हैं.

‘तलवार’ एक ऐसी धारदार थ्रिलर फिल्म है जो आपके यकीन, आपकी समझ को हर वक़्त टटोलती और तौलती रहती है. हालाँकि पुलिस की बेपरवाह जांच वाले दृश्य मज़ेदार हैं, आपको हंसी भी आती है पर एक डर भी आपके जेहन को जकड़े रहता है कि जहां व्यवस्था इतनी लचर, लापरवाह और पूर्वाग्रहों से ग्रसित है वहाँ इन्साफ की उम्मीद करना कितना मुश्किल है. हत्या जैसे बड़े अपराधों में पुलिस जिस बेरुखी और बेदिली से काम करती दिखाई देती है, और फिर कानून व्यवस्था जिस बेरहमी से उसके नतीजों के साथ खिलवाड़ करती है, आप बेचैन हुए बिना रह नहीं पाते. लगातार बदलते गवाह, सबूतों की अनदेखी, जन-मानस की भावनाओं को संतुष्ट करने की कवायद और समाज की सोच को न्याय का मापदंड बनाते हमारे न्याय-मंदिर, इस फिल्म में बहुत कुछ है जो आपके दिल को काफी वक़्त तक कचोटता रहेगा.

इतने सब के बावजूद, फिल्म आपके मनोरंजन में कोई कमी नहीं छोडती. ब्लैक ह्यूमर के कुछ बहुत ही सधे हुए प्रयोग आपको इस फिल्म में देखने मिलेंगे. घर के एक कमरे से दूसरे कमरे तक आवाज़ पहुँचने-न पहुँचने की जांच परख में एक सहायक अधिकारी का लोकगीत गाना और फिल्म के बेहतरीन अंतिम क्षणों में पहली टीम का दूसरी जांच टीम के हास्यास्पद नतीजों की खिल्ली उड़ाना, फिल्म के बहुत सारे मजेदार दृश्यों में से कुछ ख़ास हैं. फिल्म के एक नाटकीय प्रसंग में, तब्बू का होना फिल्म को देखने की एक और वजह दे जाता है. तब्बू इरफ़ान की बीवी की भूमिका में हैं, जिनके रिश्ते में अब अगर कुछ बचा है तो बस तलाक, हालाँकि कोर्ट में दोनों के पास कोई भी वजह नहीं है. इन दोनों के रिश्ते में गुलज़ार साब की फिल्म ‘इजाज़त’ की झलक और मौजूदगी बड़ी ख़ूबसूरती से पिरोई गयी है.  अभिनय की कहें तो इरफ़ान अपनी भूमिका में पूरी तरह रचे-बसे दिखाई देते हैं. ये उनकी कुछ बेहद जटिल भूमिकाओं में से एक है, जहां उनके किरदार के जज़्बाती उतार-चढ़ाव उन्हें अभिनय के लिए काफी बड़ा कैनवास दे जाते हैं. नीरज कबी और कोंकणा सेन [खास तौर पर ‘अभी रोना भी है’ वाले सीन में] उम्दा हैं. सोहम शाह, गजराज राव, अतुल कुमार अपनी भूमिकाओं में कहीं कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ते.

अंत में; मेघना गुलज़ार की ‘तलवार’ एक बेहद कसी हुई, सुलझी, समझदार और बहुत बढ़िया फिल्म है. एक ऐसी फिल्म, जो सच को सनसनीखेज नहीं बनाती, फिर भी आप पर अपनी पकड़ कभी ढीली नहीं पड़ने देती. साल की सबसे बेहतरीन फिल्मों में से एक, और थ्रिलर फिल्मों में शायद सबसे ऊपर! न देखने की कोई वजह ही नहीं! [4.5/5]