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

Kill Me Now!!!

The culture of movie franchises is fairly new in India, and of the few decent franchises that do exist today, Murder 3 will go down as the film that killed its franchise. After the great success of Murder, with songs that played in clubs for years, and after a brilliant performance by Prashant Narayanan in Murder 2, Vishesh Bhatt's Murder 3 makes you hope that you never have to see another film from this series.

The film is about a budding fashion photographer, who is in love with a budding architect Roshni, in South Africa, and brings her along with him to India where they begin their life together in a fancy British home outside Mumbai. Things start to fall apart as doubt creeps into the relationship and Roshni decides to test Vikram's fidelity. But the plan backfires and she goes missing. As a consequence, Vikram starts a new romance with Nisha, a waitress. Whether Roshni comes back, whether the mystery of her disappearance is solved, whether Vikram is truly loyal, are the questions that the film then answers. But quite frankly, it does so in such a drab and uninteresting manner, that you couldn't care less whether any of them died.

Built around an interesting premise, the film simply hovers over the complexities of relationship, trust and unveils the story in a messy and lousy manner. With enormous flaws in every department, the film takes a decent plot and turns it into a boring tale that nobody wants to hear. The casual attitude in direction reflects in the thoughtless costumes and make-up that the characters are shown wearing as well as in the verbose treatment where the protagonist has to say he is a photographer for the people to know he is one. The only two characters outside the three leads are cops whose characterisation is hardly worked out and in a scene at the police station, an unnecessary attempt at humour is made in the DK Bose category. What is funny, in fact, is the unintentional humour that oozes out of the mindless dialogues between the characters in serious scenarios.

What is least expected from a Bhatt Production is good music, and the film doesn't even live up to that mark. As far as voyeuristic pleasure is concerned,which honestly is the selling point of the franchise, the film fails at capturing the sensuality. This, coupled with below par performances from Randeep Hooda and Sara Loren, leave you with nothing to look at. As far as Aditi Rao Hydari is concerned, her fans are still waiting for her to replicate the standards she set in her supporting role in Rockstar.

In a nutshell, Murder 3 is a title that suggests the emotion one will have while leaving the theatre, through its title. You will be so deprived of entertainment that you will want to murder three.

Rating - 1 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on February 16, 2013