2.0 - One man's love for machines vs One man's love for sparrows. DOT.

Story -
The city is tormented by an unknown creature that stole every cellphone in the vicinity. When the concerned authorities are trying to figure out the phenomenon, few one per-centers get brutally murdered forcing Dr. Vaseegaran (Superstar Rajinikanth) & the government to reach out for Chitti the Robot for help. How Dr. Vaseegaran & Chitti team up to solve the mystery forms this visual extravaganza.

Movie -
The story takes off by introducing the familiar characters along with the new humanoid Nila (Amy Jackson). Shankar doesn't waste much time and gets on with the proceedings. The whole flying cellphone sequence is handled well and the mystery behind this kept effectively hidden. Though, this particular aspect is over stretched, the way Shankar & team presents it visually holds our attention. The link to Endhiran (prequel) is cleverly connected without having to deviate much. Cliched characters and scenes are there but don't hamper the narration. The murders that occur promises old school Shankar. The dramatic elevation till Chitti's entry is notable. The reveal of the person behind disappearing cellphones is terrifically done in the interval shot.

Second half starts with Pakshiraja (Akshay Kumar) narrating his backstory. This whole segment gives the much needed emotional connect to the proceedings. The flashback is true Shankar's trademark, which reminds us off all his main blockbusters. Unlike those films, where the victim turns a super vigilante, a face for the common people, Pakshiraja turns against the common people. The concept taken is the battle between positive and negative energy which is more literal, or to say visual. The pace drops during the flashback as it needs time to establish the emotional depth and the social cause without too much into preaching.

What you get post the flashback is real visual spectacle. Shankar ties up one action sequence after another. The whole Dr. Vaseegaran (Pakshiraja) vs Chitti battle holds our attention thoroughly. Once evil Chitti is resurrected, it is all Superstar Rajinikanth magic on screen clubbed with never seen before visual effects. The whole 20-25 minutes prolonged climax is in a way tribute to the prequel's climax fight, upgraded to the extreme. It is this segment that justifies the title 2.0. Shankar clubs socially relevant message in a sci-fi entertainer in his own style.

Performances -

Superstar Rajinikanth is fine as Dr. Vaseegaran without an iota of heroism. Superstar is good as Chitti who is in his elements. Superstar as evil Chitti brings the house down giving paisa vasool entertainment as expected. All in all a committed performance indeed.

Akshay Kumar is very good as Pakshiraja, both as the old Ornithologist as well as his evil self. Honestly, going by the story, it's his character who is the HERO in this story. He brings in a controlled performance in both the characters and it's commendable.

Amy Jackson as Nila brings in couple of chuckles as she gets couple of good one liners. Other than that, she's sidelined for most part of the film.

Sudhanshu Pandey as Bora's son from the prequel is average in a cliched weakly written role with hardly any scope.

Adil Hussain as Prime Minister is passable. This role is no challenge for him.

Mayilsamy as Minister's PA is routine & so is Anant Mahadevan.


Background Score & Sound Recording - 

A special mention has to go to Resul Pookutty & team from 4D SRL for delivering perfectly, a one of a kind sound mixing. The real paisa vasool comes from this new technology. Even the minute sound is captured, just elevating the scene. Even in the loud action sequences, attention to detail to each of the element [Talking about the big climax fight] was simply hair-raising. I got my money's worth thanks to the sound recording.

Direction - 

Shankar's vision definitely needs an applause. This time he went back to his stronghold, an emotional backstory to make this a meaningful outing. While, Shankar the visual genius gets full marks, Shankar the story-teller stumbles post interval. Mainly because the writing gets him into a tight spot where he has his usual "hero" with a cause mounted as a super villain instead of super vigilante and has been pitted against the "hero" as well as "anti-hero" of the Endhiran universe. This hampered the emotional connect in the visually grand action set pieces in the second half.

But then, a film with this budget and it's visual world, can only be conceived by Shankar. No other Indian director would dare to think about this let alone pulling it off.

Pluses - 

1. A true blue 3D film. The effects are "neat". The budget spent on VFX really shows.
2. The sound recording is exceptional. Gives an entirely different vibe to the experience.
3. Superstar Rajinikanth as Chitti 2.0 & well, let's keep this a surprise.
4. The funny one-liners which also gave a Nithyananda's epic speech reference.
5. The Pakshiraja - Chitti - Vaseegaran face off in the second half.
6. To an extent, Akshay Kumar's backstory as Pakshiraja.

Minuses - 

1. Cliched screenplay.
2. Lack of emotional connect.
3. As audience, we are made aware who is the hero and we are also forced to support the robot to destroy the actual "hero".
4. Just like first part, the way film ends is very underwhelming.
5. Uneven dubbing for Akshay Kumar in one scene where the lip-sync has taken a beating. The film of this stature, it's unforgivable.
6. The "Scientific Explanation" of Pakshiraja might not be appealing to all. Also, this segment slows the narration.

Final Rating - 2.5/5 [+0.5 for the one of a kind visuals & background score.]

Final Words - It is one man's love for chitta kuruvis (sparrows) buried under an army of robots. Dot

Race 3 - Next level of disappointment.

Story - 

It follows the dysfunctional family of Shamsher Singh (Anil Kapoor) a kingpin of arms business and his attempt to keep his family together amidst hatred, betrayal and the illegal businesses they own. It's a race to the finish to reveal how the family stays together in the usual Race franchise template of greed.

Movie - 

Let me be honest. This tacky screenplay and lazy writing still could've easily worked. The lack of experience and inability to handle the biggest megastar of the industry has made the final product end up as an unforgivable mess.

So let me list out why the scenes which otherwise could've worked, failed big time.

1. The lengthy introductory action scene designed for the main cast. Sure, it was meant to introduce Salman Khan in the usual larger than life manner. But, this action sequence is prolonged due to introducing each of them, Daisy Shah, Saqib Saleem, Salman Khan & Bobby Deol individually. And mainly this action scene follows a lengthy car chase scene which was designed to introduce Anil Kapoor's character. What was supposed to generate WOW factor, gets tedious soon.
2. The follow up love story after this lacks spark. There is zero chemistry between Salman Khan & Jacqueline Fernandez pulls down the scenes. The slow number I Found Love just doesn't fit in, severely impacting the pace of the film.
3. By the time, Party Chale On is over, the RACE template of revealing a twist comes out bland because of the poor dialogues and the slow pace.
4. The first half ends on a stale note with another twist to justify the RACE brand. Sadly, the pace remains sluggish, the characters uninteresting and the tone seriously questionable.

Now, what made the entire first half terribly boring was the complete lack of entertainment. It's a downhill right after the lengthy action scenes. No proper scenes provided to choose which character to root for. Anil Kapoor's Shamsher Singh came out as a typical whining dad whereas every other character including Salman Khan's Sikandar was painfully one dimensional. The entire first half completely fails in establishing why should the audience care for any of these characters. No actor could've done justice to the terribly written dialogues and that remains a major turn off throughout.

Coming to second half,

1. The makers kinda relied on audience to give the writing the benefit of doubt considering how the entire reason for the heist planned looked so silly. But the story slightly picks up for some action to happen on screen worth noticing with the chartbuster Heeriye.
2. The predictable twist and another slow number Selfish not filmed on Salman Khan takes the center stage before the crucial and lavishly shot action sequence which is supposed to be the highlight of the film even takes off.
3. Complete lack of elevating the scenes on dramatic front hurts the action scene. In the end, you just see Salman Khan kicking butt without really feeling the need to care for it.
4. The film finally gets saved (hardly) by the much needed twist, something the entire screenplay is built upon. The pace quickens and the action mode is turned on. Too late ofcourse.

The second half is not as terrible as the first half. The twists do work to an extent, no matter how predictable they are. The problem here is the fact that we as audience still don't feel to root for any of the character. Once again I repeat, one of those character is The Salman Khan. Instead of the crisply executed thrilling scenes and carefully designed suspense, what we get is lavish sets and expensive stunts. Even the final action scene, a Salman Khan trademark one, turns out to be a rehash of all the shirtless fight scenes in this decade minus the fun part.

My biggest complaint will be regarding the lazy dialogues written. This is an event film to be this careless. If you felt mocking "our business is our business, none of your business" then you aren't ready for some of the gems like "Dil nahi Dell kholke dikhao" or frequent use of the word "bro" which would even put Aishwarya Rai from Dhoom 2 to shame for abusing the word "like". Who told them, using English in every sentence was necessary? or would make the characters sound cool? Salman Khan mouthing words like "See you later, alligator" or throwing "what is their modus operandi" out of nowhere just because of one dialogue which said he studied in Oxford was not enough to justify. Even if using English to sound cool was indeed the case then why over use the Awadhi dialect?

Pluses -  Since I am only bashing in the name of honesty.

1. Anil Kapoor lives his character and he justifies perfectly.
2. Action scenes are really well shot.
3. Final twist involving Anil Kapoor.
4. Saansein Hui Dhuaan Dhuaan song in the background.

Performances - 

Anil Kapoor excels in his role with few shades. Not much of a challenge but he has brought his A game.

Salman Khan is fine but his role is extremely one dimensional. The kind where he says "parivar, insaniyat, mohabbat" as a counter reply to Anil's "mere paas daulat hai, power hai". The struggle is evident to fit him into the Race franchise and it doesn't look good because he just never fit in.

Bobby Deol again suffers from one dimensional character. But the main problem is, he is made the parallel lead to Salman Khan. When you write the two lead characters to be this weak, then it's just going through the role without leaving any impact. It's a comeback role for him and Bobby Deol is committed. If only he was offered a better role & a better film.

Daisy Shah surprisingly gives it all to her character. Sadly she gets to mouth most of the badly written dialogues but it is commendable to see her try to bring out a noticeable performance despite everything. Again her character too is strictly one dimensional.

Saqib Saleem hardly gets anything to leave a mark. Unlike Daisy's character, all he gets is to whine about his brother and when he's not doing that, yell. The other scenes strictly have him one toned.

Jacqueline Fernandez sticks out as a sore thumb. She does pole dancing well. But she hardly tries to do anything for her terribly written confused character. She's there for the songs and she's there during action scenes. A weirdly written weirdo character.

Sharat Saxena gets one scene to say his dialogue. Freddy Daruwala without a doubt is wasted in a thankless role.

Direction -

Remo D'Souza fails in understanding how to handle the biggest megastar. Sure, as a fan he is aware of all the on screen moments featuring Salman Khan that were welcomed by strong whistles and hooting. Dabangg shirtless scene wouldn't have worked without elevating the scene dramatically. Same with other blockbusters. Those aren't deliberate pauses. Those are the necessary ones to make the tacky scenes whistle-worthy. To leave the desired impact.

Further, he failed to realise it's not about random twists. The importance of maintaining the suspense between one twist to another is completely omitted. Sure, the content he got was weakly written. But weak content doesn't have to be devoid of entertainment. The same scenes could've been elevated if he had realized the cuts he approved weren't really working. In Race 3, it was every other scene which didn't involve stunts. And the one thing that worked, was backed by strong writing. [Anil Kapoor's track]

Final Rating - 1.5/5 [0.5 for the action scenes, 0.5 for Anil Kapoor & 0.5 for the laughable dialogues.]

Final Word - It is the audience who will feel the next level of disappointment.

Oh the 3D! The TIPS logo in the opening credits is the only thing that justifies the 3D conversion.

Note: The entire heist is planned to steal an hard disk comprising of sex footage of politicians with call girls. There's a scene where the photos are spread across the table while the father & children (Anil, Daisy, Saqib & Bobby) are looking at it getting hysterically happy. This cringe worthy scene in an Salman Khan starrer with the biggest following from conservative family audience. Without the Salman factor also this scene was yucky and the makers thought of inserting it in Bhai's EID-wala event film?

Tiger Zinda Hai - It is India-Pakistan bhai bhai in Desi Rambo style.

Story -
It follows eight years after the events of Ek Tha Tiger. The dynamic duo Tiger & Zoya are happily married with their son Junior as they continue to live hiding their identities from the world as well as their agencies. An hostage crisis brings them back into the field serving their country once again.

Movie -
The initial 20 minutes is dedicated to the 25 nurses getting taken as hostages by ISC as their general Abu Usman is hurt in crossfire. Director Ali Abbas takes his time into introducing Abu Usman (Sajjad Delafrooz) as the dreaded terror chief & his group, establishing ISC's hold in that part of the world as well as subtle introduction of few nurses characters. Let me clarify, this is the only time you'll get to see anything subtle. As the story moves forward, these initial 20 minutes serve their purpose for the introduction of the man of the hour, Tiger (Salman Khan). He gets to save his son from a pack of wolves while staying true to the challenge posed by his son. This well choreographed sequence is well shot & needless to say whistle worthy. Quickly, we get to see a whistle worthy entry of Zoya (Katrina Kaif) too. Ali the writer once again re-establishes the characters of Tiger & Zoya to be well in their game despite having to live a silent life. The first song Dil Diyan Gallan is well placed & it showcases the impeccable chemistry between the lead actors.

The hostage crisis lands Girish Karnad at Tiger's place & he's brought back into the field. He has his own rules & brings in his own team. The scenes are quick paced as they team up to execute their plans. Ofcourse the plans are well laid out, does hinders the pace but the proceedings make up for it as the action pieces are very well choreographed & presented. The humourous conversation between the team members is noteworthy.

Zoya too enters the field & this whole scenario of RAW & ISI joining hands for a mission is presented perfectly. The patriotism though on our face doesn't go the preaching way. The humour continues here too & keeping things lighter despite the issue dealt is harsher.

Note: Malayalam movie Take Off, one of the top 4 best films released this year has dealt the same issue in a mature & realistic way. However, Tiger Zinda Hai is all masala as providing entertainment is it's main intent. Comparing these two films is just pointless..

Coming back, post interval the film cleverly retains it's pace. Thankfully the songs don't act as a speedbreaker. The second song Tera Noor is placed in a way, it gives the Katrina's best moment in this move while she rocks the entire number with her stunts (Kudos to the body double too). Entire second half is the newly formed team of RAW & ISI executing their plans despite the challenges imposed on them. Predictability exists right from the beginning but you won't sense any signs of boredom. It all comes down to Tiger in the end & a shirtless Bhaijaan is the final masala ingredient to end the film on a high. It is an open ending again.

Performances -
Salman Khan as Tiger is restrained. He isn't playing a simple child like innocence wala character which he got to play repeatedly in his last few outings. He gets to keep a straight face throughout & firmly carries the film on his shoulder. A showcase of Megastardom indeed.

Katrina Kaif does a fair job. She falters in dramatic dialogues but excels in the action scenes, every one of them.

Paresh Rawal is first rate. So is Kumud Mishra & Girish Karnad. Angad Bedi gets his fair share of whistles in the right time.

Anant Vidhaat Sharma appears alongside Salman once again after Sultan. Sadly he has very little to offer along with the blooper.

Sajjad Delafrooz impresses as the main baddie. He emotes really well. Yet another good performance from him after Baby.

Pluses -
1. Salman Khan
2. Katrina Kaif in the action scenes.
3. Bhaijaan shirtless scene.
4. Humourous banter between RAW & ISI.
5. Well choreographed & shot action set pieces.
6. Cinematography.

Minuses -
1. Predictability of the screenplay.
2. It's an outright actioner, logic does take the backseat.
3. Too many dialogues explaining the plans which does hinders the pace.
4. Prolonged climax. Film would've benefitted if trimmed by 15 minutes.
5. Dialogues about religion at the crucial part of the climax. Not that it is bad, it's just way too routine.


Final Rating - 3.5/5

Is it better than Ek Tha Tiger? Yes.
Is it subtle as Ek Tha Tiger? No.

Final Words - It is India-Pakistan bhai bhai in Desi Rambo style.

MOM - Sridevi shines in her 300th while the film ends up being a victim of it's all too convenient screenplay.

Story - 

Devki Sabarwal (Sridevi), a biology teacher's happy little family is shattered when her stepdaughter Aarya becomes a victim of physical and sexual abuse by her classmate and his gang. When the law acquits the criminals, it's upto Devki herself to serve justice.

Movie -

The initial scenes establish the main characters and Devki's troubled relationship with Aarya, her stepdaughter who is unwilling to accept her. The tone of the film is will set right in the beginning itself as we are introduced to the brat classmate right away forwarding a porn clip to Aarya. This incident leads to him having a grudge over Devki. The ordeal Aarya goes through on the fateful night is effectively captured with the overhead shots of the vehicle, while the background score ably supports it. The court proceedings go on a fast forward mode & the sufferings of the girl and her family is realistically captured. The culprits walk scott free due to lack of evidence & this leaves Devki with no other option but to take matters into her own hands. Help comes in her way in the form of a detective named DK (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). The first half ends on a powerful note.

The second half of the film goes into filmy mode where too many cinematic liberties are taken. The transformation of Devki into revenge seeking woman is presented way too softly to create the desired impact. Although the revenge scenes that does follow are clap-worthy only due to the writing capitalizing on audience's collective reaction towards the rape atrocities plaguing the society. While the scenes that unfold might actually gel well with the prevailing common emotions, the execution leaves very little impact. While Sridevi's Devki is a strong woman and Nawazuddin's DK provides able support, it's Akshaye Khanna's cop character that serves very little to this proceedings. The pace remains even throughout. The finale gets messed up as it gets way too filmy and repetitive. The predictability does act negatively in the second half.

Performances -

Sridevi shines in her role. She brings in much needed maturity and her histronics to portray this character is what makes this a memorable performance. Right from the go, she wins you over. Even during emotional outburst sequences, she never loses control. This was indeed an acting lesson by Sridevi to anybody who aspires to be an actress.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as DK is really good and succeeds with his funny lines at regular intervals in an otherwise serious film. It is indeed a treat to watch him share the screen space with the legend.

Sajal Ali as Aarya does well with the character given to her. The characterization is a bit flawed but that's expected when you see it from a parent's perspective.

Akshaye Khanna is yet again wasted post Dishoom. Abhimanyu Singh as Jagan plays the regular baddie. Adnan Siddiqui as Sridevi's husband is perfectly cast and he is first rate.

Pluses -

1. Sridevi's honest performance and the way she carries the film on her shoulders.
2. The hospital sequence where Devki first finds Aarya.
3. The strong interval scene.
4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui's funny replies.
5. The revenge scenes especially the very first one. Audience clapped in the theater during that scene.

Minuses - 
1. Convenient screenplay in the second half.
2. The transformation lacks the impact.
3. Too many cinematic liberties taken pull the film down.
4. Routine messy climax.
5. Akshaye Khanna is wasted yet again.


Final Rating - 2.5/5

Final Words - Sridevi shines in her 300th while the film ends up being a victim of it's all too convenient screenplay.

TUBELIGHT - It's a well intentioned yet a bumpy emotional ride.

Story - 

Laxman Singh Bisht and Bharat Singh Bisht are two brothers in a small village called Jagatpur. Inseparable from their childhood, the Sino-Indian war separates them. While one brother goes to fight the war, the other back at home tries everything he can to bring his brother back with the only powerful tool taught to him... faith.

Movie - 

The initial 15 minutes shows the brilliance of the director Kabir Khan to have Laxman Singh Bisht (Salman Khan) introducing himself and other characters with witty one liners. A scene featuring Mahatma Gandhi establishes the main theme of the film i.e. importance of having faith. As the news of war breaks out, the brothers are separated. The subtle humor during the army selection process balances the mood well. The pace remains steady with the two songs complementing the proceedings. Even the Gandhian principles are inserted without going into any preachy mode with Banne Chacha played by the legendary Om Puri. While the much hyped cameo falters in creating much impact, the film instantly recovers with the introduction of Li Leing (Zhu Zhu) and her son Gu Won (Matin Rey Tangu) who play Indians of Chinese origin. Once again Kabir Khan shines with scenes coated with strong messages which are relevant to the current times. The first half ends on an emotional note.

The second half is where the director feels handicapped with very little to offer in terms of screenplay. Several scenes, mainly emotional ones featuring Salman Khan feels repetitive. The desired impact is not fully achieved. The pace considerably dips here and the burden falls on the lead actor to carry the film on his shoulder. The songs in the second half are irregularly placed and this drags the film. While all the actors contribute ably here along with Kabir Khan finding a way to insert the messages, there is a lot left to be desired. Also, Bajrangi Bhaijaan hangover shows up glaringly. The movie does pick up in the last 20 minutes due to the strong emotional quotient before ending on a predictable note as the screenplay stays loyal to the American film Little Boy. What stands out here is Salman Khan pulling off a gem in the climax, which is worth watching on the big screen.

Performances - 

Salman Khan lives the character Laxman Singh Bisht. He has given it all for this role, shedding his image completely. There are multiple scenes both in first and second half where he shines impeccably. He cries on the cue and the way he balances his expressions is noteworthy. Watch out for his every emotional outburst, it's not just Salman Khan crying. Much of the credits go to Kabir Khan for exploring this side of Salman Khan - the actor to perfection.

Sohail Khan as Bharat Kumar Bisht gave a controlled performance. The Bhaihood is extremely natural and it was treat to watch the Khan brothers together. Only complaint, Sohail Khan's role tends to become more of an extended special appearance. More of bhaihood before them getting separated wouldn't have hurt the film.

Om Puri is magical. Even the simplest of dialogues got more weight-age when he delivered them. It's still unbelievable to realise this would be his last performance.

Zhu Zhu is first rate. Her Hindi dubbing will take a while to sync in. Matin Rey Tangu complimented Salman Khan well as his friend. He delivered in all the key scenes.

Zeeshan Ayyub as Narayan gave a commendable performance. He succeeds in making the audience hate him. Isha Talwar is hardly there.

Shah Rukh Khan is wasted in a poorly written cameo.

Pluses -

1. Salman Khan's heart touching performance, coming out of his comfort zone entirely.
2. "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" scene.
3. Salman Khan and Sohail Khan chemistry as brothers.
4. Scenes of Zeeshan Ayyub bullying Salman Khan.
5. *SPOILER* When Salman Khan retaliates.
6. Emotional outburst of Salman Khan thrice in the film where the situation of Sohail Khan is revealed to him each time.
7. Salman Khan's performance in the climax.

Minuses -

1. Tries very hard to be Bajrangi Bhaijaan 2.0 and it shows not in a good way.
2. Shah Rukh Khan cameo falls flat and the entire scene contributes nothing despite the rest of the film entirely depending on this scene.
3. Weak screenplay in the second half.
4. Wrong placement of the songs in the second half.
5. Too many repetitive scenes.
6. Slow second half. 
7. Doesn't match the high expectations.

Final Rating - 3/5 [2 for the film and 1 for the terrific performance by Salman Khan]

Final Words - It's a well intentioned yet a bumpy emotional ride.

Note: As it's been a regular habit, I watched Tubelight twice. Second time in a single screen with housefull crowd unlike the first day first show in a multiplex. Enjoyed it much better with the crowd being more involved in the movie.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion - SS Rajamouli's mammoth dream ends on a predictable note.

Story - 

The film continues from where the prequel ended. Amarendra Bahubali (Prabhas) touted to be the next king is asked to mingle with his subjects in disguise and know their problems before his coronation ceremony by Rajamatha Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan). This journey leads him directly to Devasena (Anushka Shetty) and they fall in love. Back at home, Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) and Bijjaladeva (Nasser) continue to plot their revenge against Bahubali. Whether Bahubali takes over the throne or not? and the much awaited Why Kattappa killed Bahubali? is answered in this prolonged flashback.

Post flashback it's all routine story of how Mahendra Bahubali aka Sivudu (Prabhas) avenges his father's death and saves his mother as well as the kingdom itself from Bhallaladeva.

Movie - 

The first half really starts off on a high note with the established characters. SS Rajamouli is the best person to glorify the hero and with this scale, watching Amarendra Bahubali (Prabhas) showcase his skills is a treat indeed. The introduction of Devasena (Anushka Shetty) establishes her character of a no non-sense princess who is a true warrior by herself. A right match for Bahubali, It's a love at first sight and the follow up events laced with humour makes the flow pretty smooth. At it's core, this is a very simple story and SS Rajamouli knows how to present it. As Bahubali and Devasena fall in love, Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) conspires to use this for his advantage. This covers the plot about who succeeds to get the throne. The interval block is emotionally high and of course along with Mahishmathi, even the audience would hold their breath considering the only unanswered question left to be Why Kattappa Killed Bahubali?

Second half has Amarendra Bahubali's flashback continue and the emotional angle is kept intact. The reason why Kattappa killed Bahubali might sound simple but the way SS Rajamouli builds up the scenes leading to the major reveal, shows his caliber. He succeeds in grabbing our attention throughout. Post this big reveal, the final battle in the second half again relies on the grandeur and CGI. The pace slows down post the reveal and the story becomes extremely predictable. And when it comes to heroism, Rajamouli is not the one to hold back. All such scenes totally play to the gallery and this old school treatment keeps the final act in a safe zone, ending this mammoth dream on a predictable note.

Performances -

Prabhas is good as Amarendra Bahubali and he lives that character. Sadly we don't get to differentiate between his two characters rather we are left with one option of accepting them as "like father, like son", as established in the prequel.

Anushka Shetty gets a superb introduction and ably supports Prabhas in the first half. In the second half, she gets sidelined. Tamannaah is hardly there in the sequel, while you hardly get a glimpse of her.

Rana Daggubati excels as the baddie. His efforts show on screen. In fact both Prabhas and Rana complement each other very well.

Nasser is first rate. Subbaraju as a comic relief succeeds in bringing in the chuckles.

Special mention to Ramya Krishnan as Sivagami and Sathyaraj as Kattappa who actually shine in this film. While, Ramya Krishnan looks majestic, she comes up with a fantastic performance. Sathyaraj gets to show his comic talent in the first half. He has given a commendable performance especially in the scenes leading to revealing why he killed Bahubali. It's their performances that stand out.

Plusses - 
1. The grandeur and the epic scale of the film.
2. SS Rajamouli's vision continues to keep the audience captivated.
3. The humour in the first half.
4. The hero elevation scenes as well as the scenes glorifying Prabhas as Amarendra Bahubali.
5. Devasena's introduction and the scenes where she confronts Sivagami.
6. The battle with the Pindaris.
7. The interval block.
8. The scenes leading to Bahubali's kill.

Minusses - 
1. The rope work during the action scenes stick out as sore thumb.
2. Songs act as speed-breakers. Apart from Dandalayya and songs from the prequel, rest don't impress.
3. Post the reveal, the film becomes extremely predictable.
4. The final battle between Mahendra Bahubali and Bhallaladeva has very little to offer and is no match to the battle scene in the prequel. It feels like a drag.
5. Once the flashback ends, the film gets least convincing.

Final Rating - 3/5 [plus 0.5 for the efforts.]

Final Words - SS Rajamouli's mammoth dream ends on a predictable note.

SRINIVASA KALYANA - Journey of LKB towards achieving his Moksha.

Story -

Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, Mathsarya stops a human from achieving his Moksha. Srinivasa Kalyana focuses on Srini's journey of being L.K.Balu and becoming Srinivasa again where Akshara and Radha become the crucial partners in his journey.

Movie - 

The narration of the story is towards projecting it as a slice of life story with raunchy dialogues added to keep the flow entertaining. All the supporting characters are sketched in a way to serve this purpose. The film is told in flashback mode to showcase the life of Srinivas (played by M.G. Srinivas) right from his childhood to adulthood. The first love as he claims to be, Akshara (Kavitha Gowda) plays his teenage crush during his school days whereas Radha (Nikhila) is his love interest as an adult. The first half mostly is dedicated to narrate his first love story & how it ends. The pace is crisp as the proceedings are as real as it can get, beautifully capturing the innocence. None of the songs act as speed breakers in the first half.

The second half narrates his love story with Radha, journalism student who brings balanced amount of maturity & crazyness to the relationship. L.K.Balu representing the carefree, immature to handle any relationship, learns what it takes to be in a mature relationship built on trust. The situation Srini gets into unknowingly out of his carelessness threatens this very relationship & his hilarious attempts to salvage the situation intended towards providing entertainment doesn't really divert the film from it's basic premise. The film does get melodramatic towards the end, more or less as demanded from the commercial point of view, raises to top form with the climax.

The real highlight is the climax where the concept of Arishadvargas has been beautifully inserted to explain Srini's life. Srini achieves his Moksha. This is no spoiler, but the way it is explained to the viewers using the concept of Arishadvargas brings out the brilliance of the writer.

Performances -

M.G.Srinivas fits the bill, has screen presence & dances really well in the introduction song. His performance is as required by the script. Kavitha Gowda excels in her simple role where she wins over her infectitious smile. Nikhila Rao succeeds in bringing in the maturity & is good. Achyuth Kumar playing the father role once again proves his worth as an actor. Sujay Shastry is funny as the friend with his flop ideas. Aruna Balraj is hardly there. The actress playing the prostitute is first rate.

Special mention for senior actor Dattanna for the awesome climax.

Plusses -

1. Screenplay the doesn't drag.

2. Couple of songs & the use of stop motion technique.

3. Funny one-liners that mask those few sms jokes used.

4. Performances by the lead characters & of course a strong supporting actor Achyuth Kumar.

5. Climax.

Minusses -

1. Those abusive words were unnecessary. Though it helped create the buzz, the film would've come out the same even without these words.

2. Drags a bit due to melodrama pre-climax as a slow sad song is inserted.

My Rating - 3/5

Final Words - Definitely do watch Srinivasa getting his Moksha.

KAABIL - Hrithik Roshan show all the way.

Okay, I am dehydrated & suffering from fever. I forced myself to not cancel the movie plan only because I had booked the tickets 2 days before itself. Boy, tickets are so expensive that I had to take a chance with my current health condition. Thankfully, the situation didn't worsen neither did the film contribute towards making it.

Story -

It's a straight forward revenge drama. The entire plot was already revealed in it's two trailers. So two blind people Rohan Bhatnagar & Supriya played by Hrithik Roshan & Yami Gautam meet on a blind date, fall in love & leading to their marriage. There's a baddie Amit (Rohit Roy) whose brother is a corporator (Ronit Roy) & they ruin the dreamy life the lovable pair are leading. How the system betrays the helpless couple & how Rohan takes revenge on the villains against all odds forms the entire story.

Movie -

The movie begins with Rohan getting to meet Supriya on a blind date(?!). As Rohan says, it is love at first sight (oh come on, I'll get to these dialogues later). Rohan succeeds in charming her over with his cheesy lines & of course a dance number. The proceedings here is smooth & the characters are established in a text book manner. The lead pair though blind are sweet & extremely cute which reflects in their dialogues & action. Likewise the baddie Amit is introduced with a crass dialogue on the blind couple establishing his nasty character & so on. Amit & his friend Wasim, harass the couple which takes a nasty turn. The whole world of Rohan & Supriya is crushed. The two songs don't spoil the proceedings & the pre-interval scene with a powerful dialogue firmly sets up the revenge drama for the second half.

The second half begins on a predictable note. A filler item number is included which does nothing to the storyline. But once again, the song doesn't hamper the narrative. Once you buy into the premise, nitpicking on the logic doesn't matter much considering how convincing the performances are by the lead actor. So the predictable concept succeeds in entertaining with more clap worthy dialogues as well as cleverly handled scenes. The pace does seem to drop due to predictability towards the end but the well inserted twist makes up for it. The film justifies it's run time & no where feels like it is lengthy.

The point to notice is the way Sanjay Gupta has concentrated on the details. I remember a meme mocking Rohan using a candle or a watch. Mind you, those things are integral part to the script & well explained. Likewise it's these detailing which makes the second half an engaging watch ably supporting Hrithik Roshan's terrific performance.

Performances -

Hrithik Roshan has come out with a stellar performance. He's extremely believable & he single handedly carries the film on his firm shoulders. Be it the dramatic moments or the romantic ones, he never misses out.

Yami Gautam looks pretty & again comes up with a decent performance. Even she's believable in her portrayal, complimenting Hrithik throughout.

Ronit Roy doesn't have an exceptional role but it's his portrayal including his accent that leaves a mark. Rohit Roy too is first rate. Narendra Jha is very good as the cop & I wish there was more to the character of Girish Kulkarni, such is his performance. Urvashi Rautela appears in the Saara Zamaana track & just to be honest, it was a bit vulgar mainly because it's just a filler song.

Plusses -

1. Hrithik Roshan's performance.
2. Paisa Vasool second half with powerful dialogues & more seeti maar scenes. Just to reveal one spoiler, the kills are really well handled.
3. Narration doesn't falter & it's easy to buy into the premise.
4. Superb interval scene with powerful dialogue which was shown in the teaser. It's something to watch out for.

Minusses -

1. Highly predictable script.
2. Cheesy dialogues in the entire first half that just sticks out as a sore thumb. And yes, biggest complain regarding the first half will be these dialogues & few other cringe-worthy ones.
3. Camerawork in couple of crucial scenes look artificial both in first half & second half.
4. Logic goes for a toss. If you're among the nitpicking ones then you might not enjoy the film much as the entire film runs on predictable note with even the order at which the baddies die is not surprising.

My Rating - 3.5/5

Final Words - It's a Hrithik Roshan show all the way. What an actor! And the film's dialogue mouthed by him suits the best "Kalakar hoon na... main bhi manta hoon".

Khaidi No.150 - Megastar effortlessly shines in this mediocre remake.

First let me admit, I enjoyed Kaththi. I had watched it first day first show in 2014 & the only reason to watch the remake that too on first day first show is obviously Megastar.

Here's the link for my Kaththi review -
Kaththi Review

Story - 
Khaidi No.150 is a loyal remake of Kaththi with minor changes made which does impact the movie overall. It's about lookalikes Shankar & Kaththi Seenu played by Megastar Chiranjeevi. While Seenu is a thief who has escaped from prison, Shankar is the good guy fighting for the survival of his village. A murder attempt on Shankar leaves him unconscious & provides Seenu an opportunity to escape from the cops. He steals Shankar's identity resulting in his arrest & Seenu takes Shankar's place. As he tries to loot the money by cheating the old people, the truth about Shankar changes him. Now what does Seenu do to make up for his mistake? Will Shankar get out of prison proving his innocence? How will Seenu help villagers to win the legal battle against the corporate firm forms rest of the film.

What is different in this remake is the overall treatment due to the mass elements added just to please the Megastar fans as it is his ambitious 150th film. Brahmanandam as Doberman is included despite having no scope resulting in few comedy scenes that drag. Kaththi remained an action-drama with enough comedy, the dosage of comedy in Khaidi No.150 is tad bit more as even the action scenes are laced with it. The only major change happens in the climax which brings the film down.

Performances -
Megastar Chiranjeevi is a legend. After 9 years gap, he has the same charm, same grace & same hold over his act. He plays the double role effortlessly. A role like this isn't really challenging to the actor of his stature but he does full justice to both the characters. Even now he can give the young brigade, a run for their money. A real treat indeed.

Kajal Aggarwal just like Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the original is limited to the songs. Thankfully the pairing isn't as bad as Chiranjeevi-Trisha in Stalin  & most importantly not much scope to show any chemistry. Much of the scenes she's in is without any dialogues.

Tarun Arora as the main villain lacks the fizz. He doesn't look menacing & even suffers from poor characterisation. To put it simply, he remains no match to Chiranjeevi. Those little moments Neil Nitin Mukesh had in the original is missing here.

Ali plays the sidekick & does his job well. Brahmanandam's character is forcefully added one. Most of the funny scenes fall flat as they remain routine. Posani Krishna Murali too is routine. Nagababu appears as a judge & is watchable.

Director V.V.Vinayak does a cameo similar to that of A.R.Murugadoss in the original. Raai Laxmi sizzles in the Raththaalu song & Ram Charan has a surprise cameo in a song which is bound to get the fans crazy.

Plusses - 
1. Megastar Chiranjeevi.
2. Story that appeals to the masses.
3. Coin fight scene laced with comedy works here. It's a bit longer than the original but definitely entertains.
4. Two dance numbers, though not much of a fan of the audio but on screen Megastar lights up the screen.

Minusses -
1. The treatment lacks the intensity of the original as most of the major sequences lack it.
2. Forced comedy scenes add on to the run time. But it's understandable how everyone wanted to be part of Megastar's 150th film.
3. The highlight speech towards the second half is pretty much toned down here with only Chiranjeevi lifting the scenes. No mention of 2G scam because Chiranjeevi the politician supported the previous government. Basically all the nitpicking is because of these little stuff which shows up glaringly.
4. Climax is a letdown. Kaththi climax was subtle & mature whereas the climax here reminds us of V.V.Vinayak's earlier films Adhurs & Nayak. Shankar getting out of his character was needless.
5. Lastly, the background score. Major reason for many crucial scenes failing to elevate beyond Chiru's attempt.


My Rating - 2.5/5 (additional 0.5 more just for Megastar)

Final Words - Boss is definitely back. Wish V.V.Vinayak had Boss's back.

DANGAL - Shabhash !

STORY -

It is a biographical sports drama about Mahavir Singh Phogat & his daughters Geeta Kumari Phogat & Babita Kumari, their journey into the world of wrestling & fulfilling the dream of winning a gold medal for the country to make a much needed strong statement in this patriarchal society. Since this is based on real life story & characters, few cinematic liberties have been taken for the dramatic effect.

MOVIE -

Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan), former national wrestling champion has now given up on his dream of winning a gold & wishing to have a son to fulfil his dream. He gets devastated when the fourth child born is also a girl. The teenage daughters unwillingly go through the fierce training sessions. Consistent mocking in the society & facing a strict father becomes too much for the kids. They try to rebel but eventually are made to realise what they're rebelling against. The pace here is pretty decent & most importantly no songs act as speed-breakers. Humour & emotions are equally balanced throughout the first half filled with terrific wrestling sequences featuring Zaira Wasim playing young Geeta Phogat. She's equally supported by Suhani Bhatnagar (young Babita). Director Nitesh Tiwari has got the detailing right in establishing these characters which instantly connect with the audience.

Post interval, the story moves in a predictable pace with Geeta Phogat moving to the NSA & losing her concentration which ultimately affect her performance as well as her relationship with her father. Again it's the realistic feel captured that keeps the movie going. Also the strong first half helps you stay connected with all the main characters. Though there's little space for humour, Aparshakti Khurrana playing the close-cousin provides enough humour without going overboard. As the pace dips here, it's the powerful performances that elevate every scene & realistically shot wrestling matches are a hoot. The last two matches gives you the edge of the seat feeling.

Similarities with Sultan or even Saala Khadoos which released earlier this year are inevitable. All of them tried to highlight the same elements such as - underdog story, poor coaching, lack of proper support, patriarchal society & a failed sportsman wanting to fulfill his dream again. What separates Dangal from them is the realistic portrayal. While Sultan played to the gallery, Dangal keeps it subtle & of course it does eventually plays to the gallery which I don't want to reveal as the result can be witnessed in the theatre. Dangal hits every right emotions be it patriotism, feminism or father-daughter relationship.

PERFORMANCES - 

The true stars are the four girls.

Zaira Wasim played young Geeta Phogat & Suhani Bhatnagar played young Babita have done terrific job. They truly bring life to the two characters. They're part of the majority of the first half & they've handled each scene with amazing conviction.

Fatima Sana Sheikh played older Geeta Phogat & Sanya Malhotra played older Babita give top-notch performance. Just like the younger girls, even they live their characters. I wish there was more of Babita's character or a sequel is a made focusing on her.

Sakshi Tanwar has got limited opportunity but she has done a good job in all the scenes. Girish Kulkarni as the poor coach is first rate.

Aparshakti Khurrana provides ample humour & also the kid playing his younger self. He plays the perfect side-kick.

Finally, the perfectionist. Kudos to Aamir Khan for coming up with yet another restrained mature performance. Definitely one of his best. It's not just about his dedication but the way he balances each scene with all the four girls.

POSITIVES - 

1. The story of Mahavir Phogat & his daughters. This demanded to be made into a film & thanks to Aamir Khan for saying yes to this project.
2. The 4 girls are the life of this film.
3. Entire training episodes in both first & second half.
4. Wrestling matches in the first half with boys.
5. Aamir Khan vs Fatima Sana Sheikh face off in the second half.
6. Phone sequence.
7. Semi Final & Final matches in the second half.

NEGATIVES -

1. Predictable which results in pace dropping in the second half.
2. Songs don't yield the expected impact. Though not a huge problem, one does expect better music in an event film.

MY RATING - 4/5

FINAL WORDS - Shabhash !

BEFIKRE - Watch it at your own risk. I DARE YOU. I DOUBLE DARE YOU.

STORY -

Okay, Dharam & Shyra are the main characters. She's French born Desi girl who is carefree & Dharam is the usual Delhi ka launda who is careless. They get into a casual relationship which turns into live-in relationship & results in their break up. Now, both of them decide to renew their relationship by renaming it as friendship. What never seen before stuff happens next? Will they discover love out of lust or ruin their friendship due to love is definitely not the way story is presented in the film, heck, the way I wrote it here looks tons better than what's shown on the screen. Anyways, it's the usual will they? won't they? story.

In short, it follows the grand dialogue from, Maine Pyar Kiya - "ek ladka aur ek ladki, kabhi dost nahi ho sakte".



MOVIE -

Dharam (Ranveer Singh) lands in Paris to be a stand up comedian at his friend's bar. Like every guy ever portrayed in these scenario, he dreams of hooking up with as many French girls possible, only to be rejected. His "cuteness" & "honesty" impresses Shyra (Vaani Kapoor), a French born Desi girl who agrees for one drink followed by one song/dance & one night stand but quickly reminds him that LOVE is out of question as she just had a break up & want to stay single. Dharam surprisingly pursues her despite all the warnings & as usual wins her over. It's a relationship alright but nothing to do with love. Loads of kisses follow up in order to show they're having sex 24/7. Then in a quick show reel, we're shown the differences between them leading to fights & eventually their break up. Shyra gets serious whereas Dharam tries to be a playboy to get over her. 1 year passes, they get back together to celebrate their break up anniversary & decide to be friends. INTERVAL.

Now, all of a sudden, Dharam & Shyra become this YRF/Dharma approved friends that they plan everything together. To an extent, Shyra wants Dharam to decide what she should wear on her date followed by Dharam becoming the third wheel. Not surprisingly, everything turns corny, filmed in slow motion, a dream song occurs to announce the grand arrival of LOVE. This is entirely focused on Dharam to let us audience know that it's he who realises first. As usual melodrama continues, with Ranveer showing his rear talent, Vaani sporting bikini, followed by few more kisses, the director feels it's time for one more set of slow motion shots with the dream song being repeated to show even Shyra has come to realisation. Both Dharam & Shyra conveniently decide to get married to their "fiancee & fiance" on the same day & at the same venue. You can guess the rest. Actually no, it is here where Aditya Chopra tries to be Aditya Chopra by introducing a lengthy dance duet between the couple & without any warning Aditya Chopra decides to pull off a Sajid Khan on us. So expect Housefull/Humshakals kinda forced buffoonery in the end, if you dare to sit through the movie.

PERFORMANCES -

Ranveer Singh as Dharam gets to play Ranveer Singh for 130 odd minutes. All his off screen antics are on full display here. The actor Ranveer is completely missing. In the end it's all madness & nothing worthwhile to mention.

Vaani Kapoor is actually good in the ill-written role. She's mesmerising, awesome while dancing in fact shows more energy than Ranveer. But there's hardly anything for her to perform in this cardboard character which has been over done already.

Supporting cast is just there for the sake of filling the scenes. The actors who played the parents of Vaani, well I remember them through AIB & TVF so they're just there. None of them leave a mark or to say none of them get anything to leave a mark. Even the girl Ranveer dates, gets interrupted amidst her strip-tease so.

DIRECTION -

Aditya Chopra with all his right intention has got everything wrong in order to desperately reach out to the current generation. It might as well be a small film with a very simple story (or lack of it), but his attempt to make it a cool urban romantic film really gets on your nerves as he has only limited set of tools to showcase. Either make them kiss every now & then, or make them abuse each other. After Karan Johar's attempt at trying Imtiaz Ali's style of narration, this is Aditya Chopra's attempt, rather a failed one. Even the break up anniversary reminds us instantly of break up celebration from Love Aaj Kal.

And I agree, it's the expectations. Even with zero expectations, Aditya Chopra is such a big brand that it is impossible to even imagine such a bad film from him.

Positives -
1. Vaani Kapoor.
2. Kisses.
3. For those interested, Ranveer Singh's butt.
4. Some dialogues in the first half especially pre-interval is relatable.

Negatives -
1. Poor writing & direction.
2. Extremely predictable, filled with cliche in the second half.
3. Terrible Sajid Khan-esque climax.
4. Songs are not upto the mark considering the standards set.

My Rating - 1.5/5 (1.5 french kisses. 0.5? hmmm that would be without any tongue action.)

Final Words - Watch it at your own risk. I DARE YOU. I DOUBLE DARE YOU.

P.S. - The film is rated UA by the great CBFC but apart from all the kisses, bikini closeups, strip teases, they've allowed the Ranveer Singh nudity without any objection. There's a limit to double standards.

Dishoom - Varun Dhawan shines in an highly forgettable film.

Story -

Indian cricket team's top batsman Viraj Sharma (Saqib Saleem) is kidnapped before the final match against Pakistan. The Foreign ministry assigns this case to Kabir (John Abraham) who flied down to Dubai to solve the case & he finds a partner in the form of Junaid (Varun Dhawan), a rookie cop in Dubai who is yet to solve his first case. They've 36 hours to save Viraj Sharma. Without any clue about who has kidnapped him or where is he being held, the task is near to impossible. How will the duo achieve their mission? How Ishita (Jacqueline Fernandez) helps them out, forms rest of the story.

Movie -

Rohit Dhawan follows the old template of every buddy cop movies ever made. He sticks to the basics throughout. The initial reel introduces Viraj Sharma & his whole kidnapping episode is established as a mystery. John Abraham's Kabir is a hot headed, no non-sense cop & his introduction scene showcases exactly that. Then there is Junaid who is a rookie cop with a sole purpose of providing comic relief & with the film's given script, it's up to him to carry the whole film. The pace here is good & the entire first half is passable with quite a few entertaining moments, thanks to Junaid's character & one surprise cameo. Before the pre-interval, the main twist is revealed with the entry of Wagah (Akshaye Khanna) & the first half  does end on a high note.

Post interval, the writers have completely given up on the screenplay. Since they played all the major cards (twists) in the first half itself, the focus is mainly on the visuals, action scenes that are lavishly shot & an unnecessary item song that just tests your patience. Again the sole positive aspect of the second half is Junaid's character & Varun tries his best to salvage whatever's left. With no twists around, Akshaye Khanna's Wagah becomes a cardboard one dimensional character that suffers from bad writing. As seen in every buddy cop movie, this ends with the usual cliche filled pre-climax & climax, offering literally nothing. Second half is a huge letdown. And in the pre-climax we get Saare Jahan Se Achcha out of nowhere.

Positives -
1. Varun Dhawan & his energy. Ofcourse his honest performance.
2. Akshay Kumar is a riot as a gay person.
3. Phone conversation between Varun Dhawan & Satish Kaushik.
4. The entire episode pre-interval with Akshaye Khanna.
5. The chase sequence with Rahul Dev is perfectly done.

Negatives - 
1. Poor writing that results in lacklustre second half.
2. Bad music. Pritam sir, what have you done? The opening credits song doesn't matter but Sau Tarah Ke & especially Jaaneman Aah in the end credits is unbearable.
3. Akshaye Khanna's character suffers the most due to poor writing in second half.
4. John Abraham looks disinterested throughout the movie. He has exactly 1 expression for the whole movie. It's supposed to be a 2 hero movie & one of them isn't contributing at all.
5. Forced patriotism. Be it Viraj's dialogue about desh se gaddari nahi karna or towards the end forcefully playing Saare Jahan Se Achcha in the background makes no sense. Stick to the template, why force feed something that too patriotism like this?

Performances - 

Varun Dhawan is at his goofiest best. He has no problem in being portrayed as a loser as you get to hear villains say "Isko (Kabir) 4 goli maarna & yeh (Junaid) toh lagta hai goli ke awaaz sunn ke hi mar jayega". His comic timing is  impeccable & he carries the entire film on his shoulders.

John Abraham struggles. One wishes for him to lend some support to Varun Dhawan. He should've at least try to take inspiration from the recent Ride Along series if not the Lethal Weapon & others.

Akshaye Khanna... well it's always nice to see such a fine actor on the big screen. I for one, surely had missed him. But his characterisation is at fault, so he gets very limited scope. The mediocrity towards the end actually impacts his character badly.

Jacqueline Fernandez has a short role but she gets to show her legs errr dancing skills in one song. Nargis Fakhri is a special appearance gets to walk in a bikini in slow-motion so that Varun Dhawan can stare at her for comic relief. Saqib Saleem is good. Rahul Dev is another actor who is fun to watch in a Hindi film. He doesn't get much to perform but is part of the nicely shot chase sequence. Satish Kaushik lends his voice but those scenes are hilarious. And there's special appearance from few cricketers right from Mohinder Amarnath to Ramiz Raja.

And of course Akshay Kumar. He's the best thing audience can take home in this movie. He has no problem playing the gay person & the result is a laugh riot.

My Rating - 2/5

Final Words - Varun Dhawan tries his best to save this forgettable film with some help from Akshay Kumar for 5 minutes.

Salman Khan - The real King Khan at single screens.

I've always been fascinated by Salman Khan's fan following among the masses. Being his hardcore fan, it has become a tradition for me to watch his films more than once. I tend to mix it up by watching it first at a multiplex where I'm extremely comfortable & then follow it up with a single screen experience where honestly I'm not that comfortable with the kind of audience I've to share those 3 hours time.

Salman Khan is an experience. Multiplex audience can never give me the sort of experience I get from single screen audience. Yes, Salman Khan is a huge crowd puller and definitely multiplex audience whistle, hoot, scream & occasionally danced too (interestingly dancing happened only during Jai Ho). But from what I've seen, they just come to enjoy the movie & of course the Megastar. In single screen however, the audience come to celebrate Salman Khan & his movies. Everything else is additional. That's exactly what differentiates those two movie viewing experience. That's why every EID, I witness double celebration.

Like I said, most of the times I'm not comfortable with the kind of audience I get in single screens, they get over-excited every time. I don't get to hear a single word for almost 20-25 mins until they settle down on their own. The celebrations are always at the extreme for those initial minutes. I can't stand smokers too. But all this is a small price worth paying to be a witness to my favourite literally get worshipped by hundreds of audience.

All the madness, no matter how many times they get beaten up by the cops or get scoldings for causing traffic jam or for getting too noisy, it refuses to reduce. I said I'm a fan but I've never been part of a fan club. Again, just to witness those same gang of boys invest themselves to decorate all the posters with garlands, get their own hoardings, risking themselves to climb that wall with a low quality ladder... all of that for one person whom they love, Salman Khan.

If given a chance, honestly I wouldn't do those stuff. I never learned to whistle myself, one of the reason why I enjoy other people whistling for Salman Khan. I can pretend to be worried for those guys safety whenever they climb up the ladder or play with firecrackers, but let me be honest... the moment they start enjoying & infect the whole atmosphere where rest of the people start to encourage / enjoy the whole show, more often I've found myself to be part of the rest of the people & enjoy the whole fan-giri. I might not be willing to do those stuff, but I've always seen myself at the opposite end of the road either filming them or clicking photos, getting mesmerised by the shear madness. In the end, seeing so many smiling faces who all are unrelated yet connected by one person, is the best part of the whole thing.

Having such a command over his giant fan following, I will admit that I'm extremely happy with his choice of films off late. I was terribly bored during Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, but I would any day prefer him preaching family values via Rajshri style than singing Main Kutta hoon, tu meri kuttiya hai in Ready.

SULTAN is a winner.

STORY -

Sultan Ali Khan (Salman Khan) & Aarfa (Anushka Sharma) are local wrestlers who dream of representing India at the Olympics. Love blossoms between the two and they get married. What happens when two people have their dreams & aspirations get intertwined with each other? What are the sacrifices they need to make to walk the path of glory? Both life & the sport itself provides them with second chances & how they fight back with all they have got, forms the entire film. After all, Wrestling is not a sport, it's about fighting what lies within...

MOVIE - 

Akash Oberoi (Amit Sadh) is running a failed pro-wrestling league. With sponsors threatening to pullback from the championship, he's advised to get an Indian wrestler to participate in the championship by his father. Once a world champion, an Olympic gold medallist Sultan Ali Khan (Salman Khan) is suggested to be the right wrestler. When Akash visits Sultan, he's in for a surprise. Sultan has given up wrestling, he is out of shape & is not at all interested to enter the ring ever. Failing to convince Sultan, Akash looks up to his friend Govind who takes him through the story of Sultan. The first half completely relies on the love story between Sultan & Aarfa. A careless 30-something guy Sultan finds his motivation in Aarfa & decides to become a wrestler to earn respect in her eyes. To prove her that he's not the "Shit guy" she thinks him to be. While achieving all this, he forgets to realise the sacrifices others are making for him to succeed. He wins the championship but loses in life. A personal tragedy pushes him to the pit of guilt which he struggles to come out off.

Akash Oberoi offers Sultan a second chance to redeem himself. He lost everything due to wrestling so a chance to win everything back through wrestling itself. But this time, it's not the same sport Sultan is trained at. He has six weeks to train himself to take on that second opportunity. For others, it's just a championship but for Sultan, it's a battle to win back the respect he lost, win back the love of his life & defeat the demon Sultan in him who caused all the pain. Enter Randeep Hooda in a special appearance who accepts to train Sultan on time. Rest is how Sultan overcomes all the challenges in the form of various wrestlers & the final match which is the match of his lifetime where his opponent is none other than himself.

The first half is well handled in establishing the love story. It's very simple at heart, some of the dialogues reflect the actual reality & hits you hard. Also the humour is consistent. The pace is moderate here. It's the second half where the pace drops as the concentration shifts towards the pro-wrestling league. Action is handled well & second half doesn't has too many unnecessary melodramatic scenes which works very well for the film. The film doesn't show Salman Khan in the same image as his previous releases. Here, his character is at fault & he's shown paying the price for his mistakes. It's up to the audience to receive such honest portrayal of his character.

Performances -

Salman Khan has come up with a bravura performance. He's dedicated & lives the character. Anushka Sharma as Aarfa is equally terrific. She has got a strong character & she does full justice. Randeep Hooda in a special appearance is first rate. Amit Sadh as Akash Oberoi is good. Anant Sharma as Sultan's friend Govind is very good.

Positives -
1. Salman Khan at his best.
2. Very touching love story between the lead characters. Also Salman & Anushka compliment each other very well. Even if Sultan is about Salman Khan, Anushka's role isn't any lesser to him.
3. The scene where Salman Khan breaks down in front of a mirror.
4. The hospital scene, both at interval & towards the end. While Anushka shines in the interval scene, the second scene has both of them competing equally.
5. The MMA fight sequences are very well handled.
6. The humour is consistent throughout & most of them succeed in making us laugh.
7. Watch out for Suzi. Jag Ghoomeya is magical on screen.

Negatives -
1. The film is a sports drama with more emphasis on the love story. You'll be disappointed if you enter expecting an hardcore action film.
2. Main wrestling tournaments in the first half are all shown in one song & also some of the pro-wrestling matches too get wrapped up in one song. For example - we just get to witness Sultan directly winning a gold medal at Olympics without any scenes showing the matches that led him to reach the final.
3. Since the focus is more on the drama, the pace will seem slow.
4. The story is predictable.

My Rating - 3.5/5 (As a fan a 4/5 for Salman Khan's bravura performance.)

Final Word - Sultan is a winner.

Raman Raghav 2.0 - Nawazuddin Siddiqui shines in a weak, sick & utterly disgusting movie.

Story - 

This is NOT the story of the real Raman Raghav. This is a film set in contemporary times as the character is heavily inspired by the original serial killer. It's about Ramanna aka Raman (Nawazudding Siddiqui) finding his successor in the form of Raghav (Vicky Kaushal) ergo the title Raman Raghav 2.0.

Movie -

Anurag Kashyap & his co-writer are highly ambitious. The story is told in the form of chapters, an interesting way to narrate. Yes let me put it right away, the story they've in hand is not interesting. All the problem is with the writing. The attempt is solely on creating shock, disgust feeling, that the script takes the back seat completely & apart from Nawaz every other character is badly written.

The moment Raman surrenders & starts narrating, we the audience believe him completely. We totally agree that he's a psychopath who has no remorse in killing & we believe the way he justifies all his murders. His dialogues are top notch, though the analogy he makes for his murders is outright crazy, it goes down perfectly well with his character. The attempt is to establish what kind of a psychopath serial killer he is & we are convinced. The problem is with Raghav's character. He's a bad cop who is a drug addict. Apart from this, no other explanation is provided. We know why Raman is a psychopath but just because Raghav is a drug addict we're supposed to believe he's similar to Raman.

The story's pace is worse than snail walking & it only makes it worse. Songs don't help at all. Yes the story is divided into eight chapters, true. But the purpose of those eight chapters is to prove two things - shock the viewers with those ghastly scenes & to show how Raghav transforms into the psychopath, Raman wants him to be. It's the second thing that's not achieved. In one scene, Raman tells he never killed anyone by accident. The writers forget to show Raghav's character that way. He's just a drug addict, who acts crazy. The one acceptable reasoning comes way towards the end & it's too late by then as none of Raghav's acts are justified & no way they can be termed as psychotic.

What makes the movie disgusting is the writers crossing the line just to create shock. The chapter involving sister, yes it had terrific acting, the actors did complete justice, all that is fine. But to what level will you stoop down to just to create the sense of disgust & shock. Raman mouthing those disturbing disgusting lines explaining how he used to rape his sister to his brother-in-law in front of their kid is not something acceptable. No, a brother boasting about how he's thankful for not impregnating his sister isn't remotely necessary. After all the shocking revelations, the sister offering the brother to have sex with her in order to save her husband & child is a BIG NO. There are plenty of movies that has handled incest, spoken about inbreeding etc... never came across such disgusting scenes ever. Extremely cringe-worthy & the writers could've achieved the same in a different way. The original Raman Raghav did rape & murder his sister, we know, but there's a proper way to show even a ghastly thing like that.

Performances -

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is terrifying & lives the character of Ramanna aka Raman. He's the sole saviour of this debacle. Vicky Kaushal has the screen presence but his act is so one-dimensional that the weak characterization just doesn't give him any chance. With the movie titled Raman Raghav, it's indeed a blow to the movie itself with Raghav being a weak character.

Sobhita Dhulipala is good but again weak characterisation just shows her to be a helpless woman being used as a sex object by Raghav. She's shown to be too weak to break off the relationship despite 3 abortions.

Amruta Subhash is honestly very natural as the sister. But that whole chapter is so disgusting, we just wish the writers to have come up with a better treatment to the ordeal her character goes through.

My Rating - 1.5/5

Final Words - Nawazuddin Siddiqui shines in a weak, sick & utterly disgusting movie.

CBFC, take a bow for just reducing the sex scene by 50% yet allowing everything else. Seriously how worse can you get?

Independence Day: Resurgence - Thankfully it warns us right away about the third film.

Story -

Back in 1996, an alien race decided to attack Earth, basically all the monuments which the vfx team could afford so that The United States of America like always step up to save the world. 20 years later, the aliens are back & human race i.e. the defence forces of The United States of America have to fight back again. Of course July 4th is the date of battle to justify the title.

Movie -

Director Roland Emmerich plays it safe from the word go. He has the budget & like we've seen in all his previous disaster films, he doesn't try anything new but opts to rehash the same thing over & over again by attacking the same buildings over & over again, with The United States of America fighting back over & over again, only thing is the technology supporting him big time. But this time the speech comes nowhere closer to the epic President speech in the 1996 film.

This is a typical Roland Emmerich film, filled with cheesy moments & cheesy dialogues throughout. It follows the same pattern as the 1996 film, giving literally no time for any character development. We have the recurring characters from the 1996 version whom we're familiar with & then we have a bunch of new characters whom we don't build any sort of bond to care. Will Smith isn't part of the cast & there's nothing that the movie offers to miss him or not miss him.

Towards the end, they're so out of ideas that they insert a never seen before mother alien chasing down a school bus driven by Jeff Goldblum filled with kids & his dad. Never seen before as King Kong never chased down a car, Godzilla never chased down a cab, T-Rex again never chased down a car & mother alien never chased down Ripley in Aliens. It's a never seen before scene because of all the vfx & this being in 3D. Does this save us from boredom? Not even a little.

Performances -

There's nothing to boast about. All characters go through the dialogues mechanically blurting out space terms now & then otherwise filled with extremely cheesy lines. It is good to see the recurring characters, not to lie about that. But there's nothing for them to do, neither focus is made to explore about what happened to them in 20 years. There's an alien attack & then there's another alien race that calls us humans as primitive yet with all the sophisticated technology, the alien just acts like a dumb animal chasing down a school bus.

Technical Department -

The vfx is first rate. That's the only saving grace or to say that's the only thing the makers invested in. Wish they had invested little bit on the script. Well there are scenes in outer space so the 3D isn't really worth completely complaining as it has something to offer. But let me complain anyways as it's just robbing us off the extra money we pay for the glasses. Anyhoo, lesser monuments are destroyed this time. Wonder what we Indians did as no Taj Mahal or Gateway of India was considered worthy of destruction.

My Rating - 1.5/5

Final Words - Meh.

And yes the film's ending does imply there'll be a third film. Warning received.

Udta Punjab - Second Act Di Maa Di.

Story - 
Punjab is cursed with drugs problem as 70% of the youth are drug addicts. This issue is highlighted through 4 main characters, Tommy Singh (Shahid Kapoor) a rock star cum drug addict, a Bihari labourer in Punjab played by Alia Bhatt, Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh) a corrupt cop & a concerned doctor Preet Sahni (Kareena Kapoor Khan). How these characters get caught up in this war on drugs & how their stories get interlinked is the film.

Movie - 
First of all, Udta Punjab doesn't glorify drugs. Yes, the film does glorify abuses but that just serves as mirror to the actual reality. First act is solid as all the 4 main characters are established perfectly. Tommy Singh is a rock star currently going through a professional crisis due to his drug addiction. The way he is careless about the world or his life for that matter & so heavily dependent on drugs to find any sort of stability is perfectly handled. Alia Bhatt, the innocent Bihari labourer unknowingly invites trouble which ends in devastating result of her getting kidnapped by the drug mafia & held captive to be used by the gang as well as corrupt cops is heartbreaking to the core. Also Sartaj Singh's change of heart after going through a personal tragedy & the righteous Dr. Preet Sahni declaring war on drugs, the first half literally ends on a super high note with the director completely in control of his story. Special mention to the prison scene where Tommy Singh realises how carelessly he had become a worst role model to the youngsters.

It's the second half where the director decides to make it more filmy. Unlike the first half which was dark, brutal & realistic, the second half chooses the easy route by adding too much of filmy moments, a forced romantic track spoiling the flow as well as messing up the characterisation of the main leads. It's here where the romantic overtone between Sartaj & Preet looks dragged. Sartaj's character acting like the righteous cop becomes monotonous. The focus shifts on Tommy Singh & Alia Bhatt's Bihari character where the director uses humour a bit too much, diluting the impact the film had till then. A drug addict like Tommy Singh gets over the addiction just because he saw a girl & listened to her horrible story, is way too hard to believe. Even Alia's character is shown going through the hard ways to fight off her addiction. Since the focus is on entertainment, it's Tommy Singh's character who provides it, despite the dark theme & this part comes out as odd.

Anyways, the director once again takes back control over the script in the final act. Humour continues to find it's way amidst all the brutality but by now we're way too familiar with the characters so the focus is on what happens to these characters instead of the larger issue i.e. drug problem which the trailer had promised to focus on. Considering that, it can be termed as an abrupt ending where no solution is provided to the problem. If the director had not forcefully tried to insert a romantic angle then this entire final act would've come out much stronger instead what transforms on screen isn't what was expected from it.

Performances - 
Shahid Kapoor shines in his role of Tommy Singh. He gets it right from the very first scene & have to say it, all complaints about second half aside, it gives ample scope for Shahid Kapoor to act & he grabs it. Again special mention to his act in the prison scene.

Alia Bhatt once again rules. She wins over everyone from the word go. Udta Punjab belongs to her. Her character's name is never revealed throughout the film but yes, she does live her character.

Diljit Dosanjh has made a wonderful Bollywood debut. He's in control & very confident. Kareena Kapoor Khan is first-rate. She brings the much needed maturity with perfection.

My Rating - 3/5

Final Words - Second Act Di Maa Di.

The Conjuring 2 - Lives upto the expectations, double the scares & double the chills it is.

Well the prequel was a smashing hit worldwide & given James Wan's stint with horror films, it wasn't a surprise that The Conjuring will find itself  a sequel. The question was, will it live upto the expectations? or will it go down like the Insidious franchise? The difference is due to James Wan himself, who turned producer for those other films, he continues as the director for The Conjuring sequel. Honestly, the one of the best decisions ever.

So Ed & Lorraine have moved onto other cases. This time, they're shown to be investigating the infamous The Amityville Haunting. Considering the numerous films that exist already based on The Amityville Haunting, guess we don't get witness one from The Conjuring franchise (it definitely is turning out to be one.) Anyways, Lorraine encounters a demon which gives her a premonition of her husband's death, which scares the hell out of her. The couple decide they'll put a break to accepting new cases for a while. Just then the church contacts them over a case which the media has termed as "England's Amityville".

After the initial scenes of Ed & Lorraine, the focus shifts to England onto the family of a  mother & her four children. Her husband has left her to another woman & she's trying to pull it through. Just like it's prequel, ample time is given to establish these characters. The kids come off so natural that audience get connected to them instantly. The kids do play with a Ouija board, hoping to talk to a spirit thus inviting the dangerous one. One of the girl gets possessed. Every single one of those scary teases where the kids are toyed with is worth your money. The scares are aplenty. The police wash off their hands & soon the plight of this family turns into a media circus.

While the church doesn't want another hoax to hamper it's reputation & people wanting to desperately prove the family to be reason behind all this fake incidents. The concerned look upto Ed & Lorraine for the help who reluctantly agree. Like Lorraine in the background voice over describes this case to be one of the most haunting ones, you are going to have to watch it to see what's so different about this particular case.

Positives - 
1. The film is filled with too many scary scenes. Worth your money.
2. The performances are top notch. While Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga are in form, the children get all the applause.
3. The main twist is effectively handled which is why this sequel stands tall compared to other Horror film sequels.
4. Patrick Wilson showing his other side as a singer providing us with the best impersonation of Elvis's Can't help falling in love. Amidst all the madness, that particularly stands out.
5. Special mention to the Crooked Man. Watch out for the terrifying scenes involving him.
6. James Wan is in full control. How I wish for him to have directed the Insidious sequel.

Negatives -
1. A couple of ordinary scares are thrown into.
2. Ed & Lorraine's characters get a push only towards the second half when they arrive at England.

My Rating - 3.5/5

Final Words - A Must Watch Horror Sequel.

Couldn't help it,

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse.
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.