Undead and Uninteresting

Film: World War ZDirector: Marc Forster

Tandoori Chicken tastes wonderful, so does a blueberry cheese cake, but that doesn’t mean that mixing the two would serve up a delight. This is exactly what is wrong with Marc Forster’s World War Z. It mixes two universes that are scary in their own regard, but when put together; spell doom – not for the world, but for the film itself. On one hand, you have the successful formula of an epic apocalypse; but on the other, World War Z holds Zombies as the reason for a worldwide crisis.

The story revolves around UN employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to end humanity as we know it. Forced out of retirement in order to ensure the safety of his family; Gerry moves from one destroyed city to another in search of a cure. From its apparent source in Korea to an apparent safe-haven in Israel, Gerry travels around the globe trying to save what is left of mankind.

The narrative is laced with inaccuracies and general prejudices that every arrogant Hollywood production throws at you. A scene where a strategist from Israel tells Gerry about the virus outbreak in India, he says, “The Indians said they were fighting a Rakshasa.” Na huh! We Indians don’t refer to Zombies as Rakshasa and there is a day-light difference between a Rakshasa and the undead. But Hollywood doesn’t care.

The most threatening part of the film, apart from the usual sound and shock elements that raise the hair on your arms, is the fact that the source of the epidemic hasn’t been located in the film. That either hints that the script writer was unsure of how to place it in the plot or, god forbid, they are in talks for a sequel.

To sum up, World War Z brings nothing new to the raging fad that is the genre of apocalypse. The only takeaway are a few adrenaline rushes and, for the ladies, a whole lot of Brad Pitt on screen. And as the world is not on the brink of extinction as yet, just be patient for a better film to come by.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on June 22, 2013

High on Heartaches

Film: Raanjhanaa

Director: Aanand L Rai

Made at a time when the theatres are filled with the fast-track generation, which believes in flings, keeping scores and moving on overnight, Aanand Rai’s Raanjhanaa is a reminder of a passionate time, when love could make or break lives. Coupled with AR Rahman’s soundtrack, the film is set to become a cult among those nursing the wounds of a broken heart.

The film begins with a broken and bruised Kundan (Dhanush) being rushed to hospital as he begins a first-hand narration of how he got here. We are then transported to Banaras where a nine-year-old Kundan, the son of a Hindu priest of Tamil origin (which explains Dhanush’s accented Hindi) falls in love with a Muslim girl, Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). After a lot of innocent stalking and the adolescent exchanges, Zoya is shipped off to Aligarh for studies. Kundan waits for her to return and is heart-broken when she finally does, with another man in her heart. Thus continues Kundan’s topsy-turvy journey of life where he is madly in love with a girl who will never love him back.

The second half of the film tends to wander about a little but the crux remains the same – a man who is willing to endure anything for the queen of his heart. Be it the uneducated slashing of wrists or the glorious ability to take her to the man she loves; the film narrates a fool-proof tragedy. Most of it touches you with the help of the crisp dialogues (by Himanshu Sharma), which cannot be separated from the emotion of the scene. “Yeh Banaras hai, agar launda yahaan bhi nahi jeeta toh kahaan jeetega” suggests a lot about a character that is determined to win and also highlights the vulnerability that exists in hope.

The South Indian accent is a minor distraction in an otherwise stud-like performance by newcomer Dhanush. Swara Bhaskar does a decent job in her role as Bindiya, a character which is an omnipresent sub-plot of a half-love. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays Kundan’s friend and gives a memorable performance as Murari. Sonam Kapoor is a little inconsistent and unlike Dhanush, her character’s growth doesn’t age with time as much as you would expect it to.

Rahman’s music lends a touch that elevates the film, but, most of the numbers instantly transport you to a Rahman song from his previous films. From the title track of Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa to Kun Faya Kun and from Yuva to Swades the familiar sound is as big a distraction as Dhanush’s mispronounciations.

It is hard to sit through the film and not feel the emotions generating something inside of you. However, it would be a sad commentary on our times if Raanjhanaa, like Ek Duje Ke Liye is taken as a wrong message. Slashing of wrists is un-cool and even though the movie is good enough to be put on a pedestal, let this not be the one. If there is any lesson to be taken, it is that true love comes at a cost and only those willing to pay the cost should try their hands at it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on June 22, 2013

Another Delhi Belly story

Film: Fukrey

Director: Mrighdeep Singh Lamba

After the oblivious Teen They Bhai, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba returns with his new comedy, which thankfully is a step up from the previous venture. Good while it lasts, Fukrey is a film of the present and for the present.

The film is set in Delhi, where two class 12th students (Hunny and Chucha), a correspondence college student (Lali), and a struggling musician (Zafar) are all in need of some easy money to set things straight in their lives. Fate brings the four together at a college gate where they decide to give Hunny's fool-proof plan of winning the lottery a chance.

Hunny and Chucha are a duo with a lot of luck in winning lotteries. Chucha dreams in his sleep, Hunny interprets the dream to pick a lottery ticket and it always works. But this time, things don't go the way they had planned and the group get tangled with the underbelly of the city, led by Bholi Panjaban (Richa Chadda).

The similarities of the plot structure to Delhi Belly are uncanny - a group of young boys making the wrong judgment calls and landing in trouble. Having said that, Delhi Belly carved the path for more films to be made in its genre. However, what sets Fukrey apart from its obvious predecessor is its innocence. Not only the characters, but the storytelling in the tools also reflects a certain sense of genuine innocence.

It has enough sense of humour for a comedy and most of the work is done by Vipul Vig's dialogues which never stand out of the bigger picture. Always playing to the premise, laughter is generated by the natural reactions of the characters to each other's actions. It is the dialogues that reveal a lot about a character's background and makes you feel for them.

In a scene where Chucha is being chased by two goons, he calls his friend to come get him and also to get a bottle of 'Campa Cola' - that never gets old. But, nearly one hour into the film, you start to feel a little disappointed as the humour begins to limit itself rather than living up to its potential.

As far as the actors are concerned, newcomer Varun Sharma in his role as Chucha is simply adorable. Pulkit Sharma (Hunny) is the dude with a Salman like aura and does his part well. Manjot Singh as Lali too is a character you would love to have as a friend. Ali Fazal does a fair job apart from making young girls keep their eyes glued to the screen. Priya Anand has very little screen time but her expressions in the balcony sequences could take a roadside romeo's heart for a spin. The pick of the lot is Pankaj Tripathi who plays Pandit, the college watchman with a secret, eventful life. Richa Chadda plays to her strengths and her character of Bholi Panjaban, sadly, is nothing more than an urban rendition of Nagma Khatoon.

Fukrey, in totality, is a half-decent comedy. It will make you laugh at regular intervals and give you some great scenes to discuss over coffee after the film, but it is no classic that will never be forgotten. If you want an advice, be a fukra and watch it if your friend is paying for the ticket.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Published in DNA 

Ghor An-earth

Film: After Earth

Director: M Night Shyamalan

The fixation with a post-apocalyptic world has been bread and butter for filmmakers from Hollywood for quite some time now. But M Night Shyamalan's After Earth is a slow, uninventive, sentimental film which is just another opportunity to doubt the director's prowess.

Just like hopeless romantics consume any and every rom-com thrown at them, there are science fiction junkies who are waiting to lap up the next big sci-fi film. Unfortunately, After Earth makes these devotees of the genre question their taste.

With a plot that could make a great base for a video game, the film opens on a colony on a distant planet where the humans moved after the earth was rendered inhabitable. Thousand years later, a team of rangers from the colony crash land onto the planet their species had abandoned. Their leader, Cypher (Will Smith) is badly injured and the rest of the crew is dead. The task to send a signal for help falls onto the young shoulders of Cypher's son Kitai (Jaden Smith).

It is sad enough that the video game analogy fits the story of the film; but the fact that the graphics and the animated creatures in the film look video-game-like only makes it worse. The screenplay makes the supposedly adventurous journey of the boy very unappealing with its monotony. Save for a scene where Kitai's gadgets stop working, he loses contact with his father, and has to find his own route. He finds an ancient cave with cave paintings and manually draws a map to figure his way out. A lot of subtext in the scene and a sad commentary on today's times, but that is all there is worth remembering.

As far as the dialogues between the father and son who have an estranged relationship are concerned, they end up sounding just like someone who has had one too many glasses of whiskey. Turning subtext into text on multiple occasions, the father keeps handing the son lessons on danger, fear and courage.

On some level, After Earth is like watching The Pursuit Of Happyness with a sci-fi kaleidoscope. The two films will be looked at in perspective in the future; one where Will and Jaden share a personal bond while the other where a father is trying to turn his boy into a superstar just like him. After all, the entire film revolves around an injured Will Smith sitting in one place, guiding his son through an exciting adventure which he once undertook. If there is a message to be taken from this film, there it is.

M Night Shyamalan has created a world in After Earth that is based on deja vu imagery. For viewers who have seen Avatar (for the overwhelming value present in nature) or Superman (for the weird pointy island Lex Luthor creates), the film appears to have a clear lack of ambition. It is impossible to take the movie as seriously as it makes itself appear. 

Rating: 1 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on June 8, 2013 

A bad hangover

Film: Hangover 3

Director: Todd Phillips

The party-boy franchise which started off with a film, which took everyone by surprise, has ended up becoming a trilogy that died with a whimper. The third installment, Rod Phillips' Hangover 3, is a clumsy, misdirected attempt at closure, which quite frankly, wasn't even necessary. The series has been nothing but a steep downward graph of humour and emotions.

After the blast that Phil, Stu and Alan have in Vegas in the movie's first edition, the second film sort of tries to cash in on a similar premise but fails in achieving the humour in little things. Hangover 3, tries very hard to deviate from the premise and in an attempt to put the pieces back together, falters on the whole. This time around, there is no wedding, no bachelor party and above all, no hangover. But it is a case of a few loose ends from the previous edition trying to find a suitable conclusion. From being a well crafted comedy to becoming a strangely dark thriller, Hangover 3 makes you wonder why things that happen in Vegas can't stay there.

The comical punches, which were the selling point of the films earlier, are few and far between and you have to set your bar really low to laugh at certain things. The poorly written screenplay makes certain scenes really hard for you to buy. On one hand, you were sold at the concept of a drug-dealing monkey and a tiger in the bathroom of a penthouse suite, but the same franchise has now made simple stunts like jumping off a wall look downright lame.

The film, for its fans among others, will come as a massive disappointment as they had come to love the wolf-pack and their crazy adventures. But Hangover 3 fails to generate the intensity and the gut-wrenching laughter that everybody went in expecting. The film picks up from the overall disappointment of Hangover 2 and amplifies it to unimaginable heights. The baby from the first film, black Doug, and the penthouse suite in Caesar's Palace are all re-visited just as a reminder of how beautiful the first film was. But it ends there.

All in all, Hangover 3 adds to the long list of trilogies that started off with a promise and ended up like a fireworks show on a rainy day. It is sad to say, but if this is what hangover feels like, it is better to stay drunk.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on June 1, 2013 

Old School Bollywood

Film: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Ayan Mukerji returns with yet another Ranbir Kapoor starrer and the first thing you must know about this film is that it is 160 minutes long. If one can infer anything from the promotional songs that one has heard a million times before today, and from the duration that flashes on its censor certificate, it is that the film has Bollywood written all over it.

And one couldn't be more right. The story begins with Naina (Deepika) narrating the story of her life from 8 years ago when she left behind her structured life to try and enjoy her youth. The unimaginative philosophy, of young blood waiting to break the shackles of life, set itself free and conquer the world, then starts to take over the narrative. In more ways than one, this is Hindi cinema's indirect adaptation of How I Met Your Mother - it is a long firsthand account of the most productive years of your life, laden with emotions, friendships, good times and dreams.

What works, however, for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), is its screenplay. Ayan Mukerji's ability to contain the emotion of a scene within his frames comes to his rescue as the loose storyline begins to wander in god-knows-which direction. The romantic exchanges between Ranbir and Deepika are pretty off the rack, with a few sparks of indulging dialogues. The best scene, though, is played between Ranbir and Farooq Shaikh towards the end of the film. The flashback dialogue sequence between father and son is filled with emotion and leaves you with an unforgettable memory.

As mentioned earlier, the film has Bollywood written all over it. Nearly 3-hours in duration, YJHD leaves no stone unturned and squeezes every drop of emotion and spectacle from the story. The dance numbers keep you upbeat from time to time and the drama holds your hand as it oscillates - to make you cry, then make you laugh, then make you cry some more.

For Ranbir Kapoor, YJHD is yet another confirmatory test for his star status and Deepika, for the first time, doesn't depend on costumes, background music and glossy camera work to emote. For Aditya Roy Kapur, YJHD is the second straight film after Aashiqui 2 where he doesn't have to be sober for a single moment - a role he seems pretty comfortable with. Evelyn Sharma, who plays a supporting role, does her part well to take your mind off Kalki's disturbingly alien accent. And Kalki happily plays out her part in her new-found role as a chirpy-bubbly tom-boy.

After a long time, Dharma Productions has delivered a kind of film that is expected from the brand. It is a paisa-vasool entertainer for audience of all shapes and sizes. A perfect end to the summer and a good three hours spent at the movies. Go watch.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on June 1, 2013