100 out of 100

Indian cinema completes 100 years and every person associated with films is celebrating it in one way or the other. But with Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar collaborating to bring you Bombay Talkies, it is hard to disagree that if there is one way of celebrating the emotion of cinema that is better than others, it is this.

The film consists of four 25 minute short films, each directed by the aforementioned directors. Karan Johar's film is about a dysfunctional couple and a boy, who are all struggling to come to terms with the reality of their lives. Dibakar Banerjee's film talks about the struggle of a man who is trying to find his feet in a world and above all, earn the love and respect of his daughter. Zoya Akhtar's film is about a young boy who wants to follow his dream which is unacceptable to his father. And Anurag Kashyap's film is about a simpleton from Allahabad, who comes to Mumbai to meet Amitabh Bachchan and fulfill his father's dying wish.

Divulging any more details about the film would mean robbing you off the opportunity to experience and live the movie for yourself. This is exactly what makes the film special. It is all about letting the stories unfold and living them along with their characters, identifying with them and at times, just letting their lives overwhelm you.

Dibakar Banerjee's evolved storytelling makes his film the pick of the lot and its experience is enhanced by Nawazuddin Siddiqui's best performance on screen so far. Sadashiv Amrapurkar, who also plays a small role in the film, makes a lasting impression.

Karan Johar's film has brought out the filmmaker in him that probably he too didn't know about. The well crafted drama in his film is high on emotion, which is bound by some strong on screen performances by Randeep Hooda, Rani Mukerji and Saqib Saleem.

Anurag Kashyap's critical representation of the nation's psyche of reverence to superstars is very commendably captured through his story starring Vineet Singh. Zoya Akhtar's story, the only one not set in Mumbai, is an example of how cinema is where our dreams come from.

The star-studded showdown at the end of the film loosens the film's overall impact; but if you can ignore the force-feeding of that well-assembled song sequence which highlights the glory of cinema, the film is easily the best film of the year so far.

The film not only celebrates cinema, but shows you how your life is affected, influenced and at times, inspired by cinema. It invokes emotions in you that make you feel like you belong. And while we know films to be the property of those who make it, Bombay Talkies shows you how you, the audience, are also a part of the fraternity. Watch it, and be a part of cinema.

Rating - 4.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on May 4, 2013

Songs in search of a film

The sequel of Mahesh Bhatt's Rahul Roy and Anu Agarwal starrer Aashiqui, Mohit Suri's Aashiqui 2 is the recreation of the sensibilities of the 90s, where love makes one person so important that he/she can make or break your life. However, the sad thing is, just like its predecessor, Aashiqui 2 too, is a music album in search of a film.

Aaditya Roy Kapur plays Rahul Jaykar, a fallen star, who squandered his fame and skill by enslaving himself to alcohol. He encounters Aarohi Shirke (Shraddha Kapoor), a singer at a bar and sees potential in her. He decides to give her the chance she deserves and make her a star like he was. And in the midst of all this, Aashiqui 2 superficially chronicles the story of their relationship.

Just like any mediocre film of the 90s, the director tries to establish the character's story in one single montage or simply a verbose scene between two characters who, by the way, are too uni-dimensional and lack depth. Rahul's catch phrase "Suno naa..kuch nahi, bass yuun hi" best describes what the director is also trying to do to the audience.

Aaditya Roy Kapur's performance is the only positive that can be taken from the film, but he too is inconsistent. But consistency of a character has its flaws rooted in the script; and seeing that it demanded Roy Kapur to look unquestionably stoned at certain points, he delivers. Shraddha Kapoor has a pretty face and is tolerable to say the least. Tulsi Kumar's voice simply doesn't go with that face and the audience tends to reject it like a bad organ transplant.

The talking point of Aashiqui was its 11-song-soundtrack with Kumar Sanu leading the charge. The real test for Aashiqui 2, now, is whether it manages to dominate the ringtones and cassette players in autorickshaws for the next 20 years. Sickeningly romantic, the music sounds like 2005 and the lyrics, 1985. Hum mar jayenge is a little too outrageous for a generation that sincerely believes in Jaa Chudail. The selling point of the film is the song Tum Hi Ho and the audience is at its most attentive when it makes its appearance in the film. This speaks volumes of how little Aashiqui 2 has to offer. If songs are all that you want to sell, making a film about them is the most expensive an unfruitful way to go about.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 27, 2013 

Heavy Metal

We know that Bruce Wayne is Batman and Clarke Kent is Superman; but three films into the series, it is safe to say that the real Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr. In Iron Man 3, we pick up from where we left it in Avengers, when Tony Stark escapes from the worm hole and returns to the our world sans aliens and gods. A timely shot in the arm for those who were craving for a good super hero film, the film is nothing more than the comic book being played out on screen.

What works for Shane Black, the director, is his absence from the narrative. Running at a brisk pace, Iron Man 3 sees the egotistical Tony Stark pitted against an enemy that knows no limits. Mandarin, the face of terror, finds Tony Stark standing between him and total domination and has to take him out. When his personal world is destroyed by this enemy, Stark embarks on a journey of salvation, and does so in style. The film arranges the plot elements very well and surprises you brilliantly at certain points in the story. Apart from that, a few impressive and overwhelming action sequences are enough to drive the film home.

Downey's aura carries the personality of a billionaire superhero with ease and is assisted by clever dialogues and one-liners that tend to avoid repetition. But Downey's persona is a given even as you walk into the film; the real surprise is Ben Kingsley. Even if you are not a fan of the superhero phenomenon, it is worth watching the film for Kingsley's performance as Mandarin.

As a film, Iron Man 3 is an entertaining sequel that matches the standards of the first film and makes up for the shoddy narrative of Iron Man 2. Often kept on a pedestal, superheroes tend to lack the ability to gain some empathy from the audience, but Shane Black has managed to take care of that. On an emotional level, the film gets you involved more than any other film based on a character from Stan Lee's marvel universe and brings you a sweet mixture of dynamism and vulnerability.

To sum up, Iron Man 3, thanks to Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr, has managed to stand up as an exception to the mindless two-dimensional world that comic book inspired superhero films usually create.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 27, 2013 

Modern Family (Dark Ages)

With its graphics in place and a plot that is from the scriptwriters' textbooks, The Croods is an above average film that will entertain you. This Chris Sanders and Kirk De Micco film highlights the element of surprise in discovery and lets you enjoy the doubts and predicaments of its characters, who are compelled to experiment with something new.

Described as the world's first family road trip, the film tells a tale of The Croods, a family from the stone ages that has internalised the art of survival. With a safe-haven cave and a family motto of 'never not be afraid', Grug, the patriarch in the family, tries his best to protect his family from whatever evil lurks outside - be it the predators or darkness. However, when their cave is destroyed, they have to embark on a journey to find a new, safer home. And while world as they know it crumbles behind them, the Croods encounter an imaginative nomad in Guy. With his innovative thinking and advanced ideas, he guides the family to a better home, but not before their survival skills are duly tested.

What makes this film so special is its retrospective treatment, wherein you are looking at the characters from the vantage point of the present. The family dynamics are no different than any urban western family, where the teenage daughter is rebellious; the youngest child is an uncontrollable force of nature and their old grandmother who is always pulling punches at her son-in-law. Some moments in the film where Grug invents the photograph or, Epe's reaction when she wears shoes for the first time or, for that matter, Guy's pet, who he uses as a belt, are the simple parallels drawn between two worlds that are separated by thousands of years.

The story lacks in delivering something new, but the first half has some scenes which one may remember for a long time. For instance, a scene where the Croods have returned to their cave from their daily hunt for food, just before sun down, Epe goes climbing a steep cliff in a feeble attempt to stay under the sun for some more time. Sadly, that longing for light is the only deep emotion in an otherwise thin narrative.

Since it is summer now and your children are getting restless at home with nothing to do, The Croods presents itself as a great opportunity for a family outing to the multiplex. And in that regard, one couldn't ask for more.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 20, 2013

Fine Daayan

It is sickening to see how the genre of horror, thanks to the lacklustre productions that have been made in this country, has ended up being a branch of comedy (unintentional). Just a month ago, we saw Aatma trying to break that clutter but only managed to scare you. But finally the tried and tested myth of the daayan has attempted to revive this genre. Kannan Iyer's Ek Thi Daayan is positively chilling, hair-raising and is capable of being responsible for some sleepless nights.

Vishal Bhardwaj's disciplined screenplay creates a setting, which from the very beginning creates an eerie atmosphere of thick fog which makes you see only what the maker intends you to see. Ek Thi Daayan is a story of Bobo (Emraan), a famous illusionist, who is betrothed to his girlfriend Tamara (Huma). However, the ghosts of his past are a roadblock to their future together. He therefore revisits his old shrink only to recollect a horrifying regressed memory of how a daayan killed his sister and his father. Tormented by the memory, Bobo decides to move on, only to find Lisa Dutt (Kalki), an NRI come to India in search of him. This opens a can of worms and Bobo's life takes a turn for the worse. Has the old daayan returned? If so, why is she after him?

Just over two hours long, the film has a smooth flow to it and builds up suspense one-step at a time. By the end of the first half, you only have a lot of questions about what is going to happen and are in half a mind to get it over with soon. In the second half, the film answers most of your questions, but not before it descends into that part of your mind which feels ticklish when scared.

In an attempt to avoid the in-your-face horror, even the spookiest, eeriest scenes have a sense of believability about them. And although you don't feel the tremors of fear shaking your skin while the scenes take place, you may feel them later that night when you are lying awake in bed, in the presence of numerous moving shadows. The final ten minutes of the film are fairly ordinary, but you tend to go forgive that in the larger scheme of things.

The background score, by Clinton Cerejo, is largely under-utilised and could have added so much more value to the film. The music and lyrics are top notch, especially the title song Lautungi Main by Rekha Bhardwaj. Her haunting, melodic voice welcomes you into the film, before the actors take over and deliver some memorable performances.

Emraan Hashmi, although the protagonist of the film, has very little to do. Most of the times, his character is only reacting to situations. Huma Qureshi, positively shrugging off her image from GOW, is refreshing in her portrayal of Tamara. Kalki, who plays Lisa Dutt, also fits well into the shoes of a chirpy, outgoing girl. But Konkona Sen Sharma is the pick of the lot. Her character, Diana, is the personification of black magic itself. With subtle change in looks, she can go from being loving and adorable to deadly and vicious.

This psychological, super-natural thriller of a film is a great kick for horror junkies; and for the faint- hearted, stepping in elevators or being in the same room as a lizard will be hard for a few days.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 20, 2013 

Total Dramebaaz

Our lives would be so dull if we simply played our parts in fulfilling our destiny and saying all the things we were meant to say and doing all the things we were meant to do. What makes life such a beautiful journey is the little drama we add to it. The minor misunderstandings, the little conflicts, the uncalled-for reactions - they are all responsible for what we make of what life throws at us. And Rohan Sippy's Nautanki Saala is just the celebration of that drama. It is a carnival of nautanki.

The film opens with Ram Parmar (Ayushmann) at a therapy session with his shrink, telling her about a Chinese proverb which translates into, 'We are responsible for the lives of the people we save.' Having stopped a stranger named Mandar Lele (Kunaal) from committing suicide, RP (as Ram likes himself being referred to) feels obligated to also save Mandar from the wreckage of his own broken heart. A comedy of errors, the film unfolds with its heightened sense of drama into an innocent, unintended love triangle.

A refreshing romantic comedy, the film's strength is in its well-crafted screenplay, with its characters and properties perfectly placed in the narrative. Uneasy hilarious moments create a comic tension, like the scene where a snorty Mandar, just rescued from committing suicide, is introduced by Ram as his old buddy to his fiance. Or sometimes it's just the situational humour of a Hospital receptionist with a heavy accent, and on other occasions, puns that have some thought put into them.

Rohan Sippy, who has made the underrated comedy Bluffmaster, has a similar approach to this film and captures humour that is present in the script. Nautanki Saala is therefore as much a writer's film as the director's. Nipun Dharmadhikari's screenplay in his maiden film as a screenwriter has the singularity and grip that'll make you remember the movie for a long time.

Seemingly lengthy at over two hours, Nautanki Saala has a smooth narrative and the only element that prevents the film from becoming something greater than it is, is the casting. Apart from the male leads, and a superficial cameo by Abhishek Bachchan, the ensemble should have been chosen more extensively. The three leading women in the film, Pooja Salvi, Evelyn Sharma and Gaelyn Mendonca are a serious drawback to the overall ambience of the film. There is just too much effort and too little expression in their performance.

A decent comedy by all means, Nautanki Saala runs a little deeper with its Ramayan metaphor and motifs like the Shiv dhanusha and Ram's ring which Hanuman delivers to Sita. Embedded without losing the fluidity of the main plot, these little things make your overall viewing experience more meaningful.

All in all, the film entertains you and once you have seen it, you might forget those little jokes and the romance; but there's something you take back with you - the feeling of satisfaction that your inner Dramebaaz has been acknowledged.

Rating – 3 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 13, 2013

What are you laughing at?

After the mind-numbing re-make that Himmatwala was, one had to enter the cinema hall cautiously, not knowing what evil is going to unfold before one's eyes. But fortunately, there is nothing to be afraid of. Chashme Baddoor is not even slightly a remake of the 1981 Sai Paranjpye classic. And if the maker claims that it is one; it is only as good a remake as Hero No.1 was of Bawarchi.

The film is definitely inspired by the plot structure of Chashme Buddoor (1981); where three friends -- Sid, Omi and Jai are just out of college and while Jai and Omi are chasing girls with their cheesy pick up lines, Sid is the sincere, studious and honest one. Then comes the girl, Seema, who ridicules Omi and Sid's desperate attempts to woo her. Later, Sid and Seema fall in love; and Omi and Jai try to break the relationship out of envy. The only other common thread between the two films is the vague reference made to Chamko detergent powder. The film takes place in Goa and occasionally passes off a couple of exotic foreign locations as Goa, and unravels this comical tale of friendship rather half acceptably.

As far as David Dhawan is concerned, Chashme Baddoor is a great improvement on his style of filmmaking where the focus is laid on fairly humorous dialogues rather than mindless physical comedy. Jai, played by Siddharth, often reminds you of Ravi Baswani and also makes you realise what today's comedy is missing. From Omi's shayari to some appreciable puns, the overall bar for the sense of humour is not set too high. However, no matter how uptight you are about the standard of jokes, some of the situations in the film do tend to tickle your funny bone.

Ali Zafar, who plays Sid, as we know, is capable of comedy (case in point Tere Bin Laden) but doesn't fulfill his potential. The glamour doll Taapsee Pannu is extremely ordinary and puts you off with some weird facial expressions that she wears during the song sequences. Rishi Kapoor, as Joseph Furtado, who replaces Saeed Jaffery's character of Lallan Miyan, does a good job. But his character's involvement as a crucial sub-plot isn't as gripping as Lallan's.

By itself, Chashme Baddoor is a half-decent comedy which will come as a much needed relief after a long week at work; but unlike the classic, no one will be citing instances from this film 30 years from now. For those who have already experienced the wonderful film, don't expect this one to live up to your expectations. For the young audience, remember, you are only as good as the jokes you laugh at.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on April 6, 2013 

Real American Sidekick

Fascinating as it was to play with these action figures as a child, and to watch the animated series about them, G I Joe Retaliation, not unlike its prequel, is an underwhelming experience. Everytime you picked up one your action figures and screamed ‘Go Joe!’ before plunging into battle with the Cobras, you probably acted out a better narrative than this Jon M Chu film.

In this sequel, which has a severely unconnected time lapse with the previous film, the G I Joes are not only fighting the Cobras, but are also fighting the forces within their own system and the Government. A clinical strike at one of the outstation bases wipes out most of their soldiers and with a handful of them left, they find themselves facing a nemesis that has threatened their very existence. Led by Roadblock (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), the Joes re-assemble the survivors to re-build and retaliate. With Flint, Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes on his flank, Roadblock reaches out to General Joe (Bruce Willis) to come out of retirement and help them restore order.

An ill-constructed series of explosions and megalomaniac threats that lack dramatic juice, the screenwriters seem to have adopted the screenplay by observing a pretty dull kid for two hours with his action figures. With high-end graphics at their disposal, the finished product seems to lack the awe that makes action films a little more spectacular. The dialogues, which usually help the caricatures create a place in the heart of the viewers, aren’t up to the mark either. Furthermore, in a sequence where Snake Eyes captures Storm Shadow from a hilly terrain in the Himalayas, the filmmaker has pulled off something that wasn’t considered possible. He has made Ninjas look lame.

The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), who plays the protagonist Roadblock (a word that truly describes what the writers of this film hit), just isn’t dynamic enough to be a child’s hero. Bruce Willis, whose character is asked to come out of retirement, is a vague reminder of an action hero that once was; and one that shouldn’t be asked to come out of retirement, at that. Lady Jaye, played by Adrianne Palicki looks nothing like her action figure and hampers the character’s image with her feminine overtone.

In conclusion, after all the fans of this franchise, who will go into cinema hall humming ‘Real American Hero, It’s G I Joe!’ have been thoroughly bored; and after you have given up on even trying to pretend to like it; you can go home, pull out the box of your old toys and enact a better sequence than the unimaginative disappointment that is G I Joe Retaliation.

Rating - 2 out of 5

The 80s Are Back(stabbed)

The film opens with the disco number Thank God It's Friday with Sonakshi Sinha doing her best to appear graceful. Sajid Khan's inability as a director to introduce the time period in which his film is set, couldn't be more visibly stated. And five minutes after the shabbily choreographed dance sequence turns into a street fight, the film fails in recreating the 80s, like the promos promised.

Ajay Devgn is Ravi, the Himmatwala, who is the strongest man in the universe, which is established by his fight with Russia's strongest street fighter -- a feat that even Rocky Balboa required 12 hard-fought rounds to achieve. 

Then, Ravi returns to his village where he reunites with his family and revisits the old wounds and the atrocities that his family faced at the hands of the evil sarpanch Sher Singh (Mahesh Manjrekar); quite similar to Vijay Dinanath Chauhan's return to Mandwa, only more pathetic. And then, with one insignificant twist in the tale, the story unfolds just like it did 30 years ago with Jeetendra and Sridevi.

In a superficial effort to recreate the 80s, Sajid uses the hyper-reality which was an involuntary reflex back then; but ends up making a mockery of everything. If all the dialogues in the film were spoken only once, the film would be cut down by two-thirds.

A sequence where Ravi paints a picture of how he will torture Sher Singh is a re-enactment of the famous shower murder scene from Hitchcock's Psycho. But it all comes across as distasteful and foul; which by the way, seems like the theme of the film.

The only thing Himmatwala has managed to positively recreate is the picturisation of the song Naino Mein Sapna; however, Ajay Devgn's tough-guy physique doesn't allow him to move like the Jumping Jack that Jeetendra was.

The other thing in the film that is from the 80s, is the sense of humour. Most of the punches are just too predictable and jokes that you may have read in a time when forwarding text messages first became cool. Some typical Sajid Khan puns and double entendres, which Paresh Rawal sportingly delivers in his caricature role as Narayan Das, are simply not funny. If you find yourself in a theatre where people are actually laughing at them, then consider it as a sad commentary on sense of humour of the times we live in.

Of all the films that were made in the 80s, Himmatwala was probably the last film that deserved resurrection. Defining a dark phase in the world of mainstream Hindi cinema, the 80s are a thing of the past for a reason.

For a devotee of Indian cinema, the 80s are a fond memory for parallel films like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Chashme Buddoor and they would like it if it stayed that way. And with David Dhawan's remake of Chashme Buddoor just a week away from us, we can only pray that it doesn't ruin the image of a timeless classic.

As far as Sajid Khan's deteriorating sense of humour is concerned, Himmatwala hasn't brought back the 80s, but it has, in a way, brought mediocrity and crass back into filmmaking.

Rating - 1/2 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 30, 2013 

Sleepy Hollow

Makarand Deshpande seems to have carried the sensibilities of the unbothered hitch-hiker he played in Swades into his filmmaking. Sona Spa, a film made on an unconventional subject, is nothing but a surface level comment on the ills of modern lifestyle.

The film revolves around a premise of delegating the task of completing your sleep to someone else. However, doing so will open that delegate to the world of your dreams, thereby ridding you off the stress. Yes, does sound an Inception-like plot. However, what Christopher Nolan does with extreme craftsmanship is that he gets you so involved in the story that you do not stop to question the plausibility of the concept. Makarand’s film, sadly, has a story that is too preachy and once you get the gist of it, you stop paying attention to the déjà-vu dialogues narrated by Naseeruddin Shah, referred to as Babaji throughout the film.

On paper, the concept appears quite intriguing, but the film fails to translate the psychological thriller onto screen. The film focuses on two of the ‘sleep workers’; one of whom is a middle-class girl from Pune overcoming a family tragedy while the other is a rich girl from Mumbai belonging to a dysfunctional family and coping with the death of her mother. The plot outline may interest you at first, but it unfolds in an unflattering manner leaving you disappointed. A lot of the blame goes to the form in which the film is presented. A dark theme like this is presented with flat visuals and primitive graphics, and is shot like casual coverage of events; lending it a crude look which doesn’t generate any interest.

Naseeruddin Shah, who is the largest figure on the promotional material of this film doesn’t play a very important role in the film. He is reduced to being on a television screen at the Spa or simply heard in the background, save for a few scenes where he preaches about the importance of sleep by breaking the fourth wall. Ritu and Richa, played by Aahana Kumrah and Shruti Vyas try to make the most of the poorly crafted scenes and imperfect dialogue. Aahana, shows promise and maybe we will get to see her in a better film in the near future.

Makarand’s sense of humor, like him, appears in the film for brief moments. For instance, Babaji (Naseer) is said to have settled in Seattle because people are ‘Sleepless In Seattle’. But apart from that, the film is a superficial commentary on life as we know it, in a way that is seen in cheap pop-psychological stories and pretentious college plays.


Rating - 1.5 out of 5