Varshangalkku Shesham, Aavesham, Jai Ganesh: "Eda mone...jai vilikalude kaahalam muzhagatte!!!"

It's celebration time courtesy of Eid & Vishu, & to cash in on the festive mood the Malayalam film industry came with three big banner releases. However, PVR threw a spanner in the works when they temporarily banned the screening of Malayalam movies for a day or so, over the visual print fee. Anyway, they have reversed the decision & people have continued to flock to the theatres. So how did the three releases pan out for me???

Varshangalkku Shesham: "Humour & earnest performances saves it!!!"

To be frank, this was the movie that I was most excited about among the three & that was primarily coz of Vineeth Sreenivasan and his ensemble cast. With the exception of "Thira", Vineeth has always penned the script whenever he had donned the director's hat & it was no different this time around as well. As was evident in the trailer, it is essentially about the bond of two friends, Venu (Dhyan) & Murali (Pranav) who decided to go to Kodambakkam to make their respective dreams in the celluloid world a reality. So what did destiny have in store for them???

It would be fair to say that this is Vineeth's weakest script to date especially when it came to the emotional aspect which was supposed to be its USP.  At the same time, I felt this one had his best writing when it came to humour as his casting was spot on & his judgement as to how far to push the envelope for meta humour was precise, since a tad further would have made it tasteless. The camaraderie between the protagonists was palpable but the conflicts that happen between them at different junctures didn't feel organic or felt rather silly (especially the first one). But thanks to the humour in the second half, it manages to pull the movie from the abyss it almost found itself in. 

On the technical side, Amrit Ramnath's music was fine with 'Nyabagam' rendered by himself being the standout track. At the same time, I felt that though the songs sounded fine as an album; it doesn't blend in as well in the movie (or rather it doesnt stay with us) & that is primarily coz of the failure of Vineeth to create that emotional depth which he was so excellent at in "Hridayam". Viswajith deserves praise for capturing visuals in the different eras well while Ranjan Abraham aptly paced the scenes and didn't make it feel as long as it actually is. All the other aspects were also handled neatly be it the art direction, make up of Dhyan etc.

On the performance front, this is literally a resurrection of sorts for Dhyan & Nivin as both of them have done their roles really well. The latter had an extended guest appearance & he was an absolute scream on the screen as the narcissistic superstar who was going through a slump in his career. Dhyan has improved significantly over the years & as the elderly Venu, he was impressive. Pranav has done his part well in the younger avatar & reminded me of Lalettan in quite a few sequences (as in "Kamaladalam"). However, his portrayal of the older avatar was rather average. As for the rest of the cast, Shaan Rahman rocked, Basil Joseph & Aju Varghese was good while the others were ok including Kalyani though I felt that segment didn't quite add much to the movie. 

Verdict: Despite the emotional drama lacking the desired effect, the humour in the second half makes it an enjoyable feel good flick!!!

Rating: 3/5

Aavesham: "Fafa & Co. keeps us engaged for large parts!!!"

After the success of "Romancham", Jithu Madhavan is back with his second directorial venture which has Fahadh Faasil in the lead role. Whenever Fahadh is involved in a project, it is bound to attract attention & when there was mention of him being rebranded in this flick as a bindaas don in this gangster comedy, the expectations were nigh high.

As in his debut, Jithu has yet again based his story in Bangalore where three Malayali students, Aju (Hipster/Pravin Raj), Bibi (Mithun Jai Shankar) & Shanthan (Roshan Shanavas) had recently enrolled into an engineering college. It was however not easy going for the trio due to ragging from the seniors & they decided to reach out to a gangster in the locality to help them out. Their search eventually led them to Ranga (Fahadh) & what happens as a result of their acquaintance with him and his gang is what this movie is about.

The manner in which the story unfolds and the lead up to Ranga's introduction and the eccentricities that he & his henchman, Ambaan exhibits regularly tickles our funny bone. In short, this segment breezes through keeping the audience in high spirits as the back story of Ranga is revealed by Ambaan in various sequences. But the manner in which that story is revealed keeps both the characters & the audience confused as to whether it was indeed true & if yes, how much of it was believable. That was a smart ploy by Jithu & keeps us hooked with an impactful interval. But the second half was a whole different cup of tea for me as it seemed that Jithu had no clue how to take the story forward. It still manages to keep us engaged thanks to Fafa's excellent performance. On the technical side, it was neatly done be it Samir Thahir's cinematography whose choice of colour & frames, gave it a mass feel, Sushin Shyam's music which was in sync with the mood (though I felt it wasn't quite upto the level of his other recent work) & the action choreography which was damn impressive. 

I think I have already spoken about Fafa's performance a couple of times already but the fact is he was excellent as Ranga in all aspects & showcases the variation in the character so convincingly. Sajin Gopu was an absolute hoot & at times, outshone Fafa as well. All the three guys, Hipster/Pravin Raj, Mithun & Roshan did their parts well while the stunts showcased by the Northies & the old dude was top notch. 

Verdict: It is undoubtedly a movie that is made for the gallery & the first half certainly provides that. However, the latter half does not quite cash in but Fafa made sure that he kept the audience engaged. In short, do check it out for him!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Jai Ganesh: "Unni does his part though the script doesn't make us go jai!!!"

The third movie to hit the screens last weekend was from Ranjith Sankar who had collaborated with Unni Mukundan for the first time and the duo had produced the movie as well. As always, Ranjith had penned the script where the focus is on Ganesh (Unni), who is a graphic designer for a TV channel & an ethical hacker. In addition, he harboured passion for comics & created quite a few of them titled 'Jai Ganesh'. However, an accident had left him semi-paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. But he tried to make sure that his disability didn't prevent him from helping people & one such incident whereby his friend gets kidnapped is what this movie is about. 

The primary flaw with the flick is that there are way too many things happening & yet none of them managed to provide the impact. The inability to make the audience empathise with the protagonist for most parts proved to be the bane as there is minimal emotional connect. If they had invested on the hacking sequence more, it would have been more engaging. The title is based on the comics angle & that I felt was the weakest among whatever they had touched upon. The technical aspects were decent with Chandru Selvaraj's cinematography & Sangeeth Prathap's editing being neatly done. 

There is no doubt that Unni has given a fine performance & does manage to strike a chord with the audience. Though his emotional outbursts at times comes across as rather amateurish at times. Mahima Nambiar barely had much to do due to a poorly etched character. Ashokan impressed despite the limited screen space along with Ravindra Vijay, whose character & performance had potential for much more. 

Verdict: Certainly the weakest among the three releases & if their box office returns also reflects the same, then they have only themselves to blame. 

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Secret Home, Anchakkallakokkan, Thankamani, Thundu, Iyer in Arabia & Vivekanandan Viralanu: "Even on OTT, most will struggle to keep audience from skipping it!!!"

Over the past one month, our industry has been witness to some great news with Chidambaram's "Manjummel Boys" having become the highest grossed Malayalam movie ever. To add onto that,  "Premalu", "Aadujeevitham", "Bramayugam", "Ozler" etc., have also reaped rewards at the box office. At the same time, there has been no dearth of mediocre movies that has continued to flood the theatres to no avail. I happened to watch quite a few of them & thought to club them together as I feel they might struggle to find takers even on the OTT platform.

Secret Home: "Despite the twists, the movie will remain a secret even on OTT!!!"

A couple of weeks back, I came across a FB post where Abhayakumar had stated that prizes will be given to those who are able to identify a significant resemblance in his directorial debut "Secret Home" in another flick. To be frank, I found that rather odd as I felt it indirectly implied that it was an inspired version. Anyway it turned out Anil Kurian's script was based on a real life incident that unfolded in Kottayam about a decade back.

Sarika (Sshivada) & Saran (Chandunath) had been married for a decade, but their relationship were presently on the rocks. The problems continue to escalate between them which eventually lead to a murder in their family with Sarika being the prime suspect. So was she indeed the culprit??? There is no doubt that it had an intriguing story and the characters has been presented with varying shades of grey. But at the same time, it lacked clarity in some of the crucial aspects & finesse in the execution of certain sequences, due to which the twists in the end didn't quite have the impact that it was expected to deliver. 

On the technical side, it was fine while on the performance front, Sshivada has given a credible act while the others were average and that was primarily because their roles were not properly etched.

Verdict: With a runtime of under 2 h, it conveys the content in quick time. However, the execution of it left a lot to be desired.

Rating: 2/5

Anchakkallakokkan: "Cliched revenge drama with a unique take!!!"

The primary reason as to why I felt like watching Ullas Chemban's directorial debut was because it had that feel of a cross between a Western which is married with our folk art form of 'Porattunadakam'. Based on the script by Vikil Venu, the story is set in 1986 along the Kerala-Karnataka border where a prominent landlord, Chaapra (Sreejith Ravi) was murdered. The incident had garnered attention as the 'Thankamani' incident had happened a few months prior to that which was expected to have a significant impact on the upcoming Assembly elections. It is around this time, Vasudevan (Lukman) came to take charge as constable in the local station. Being rather naive & inexperienced, he was bullied by his colleagues though his senior officer, Peter (Chemban Vinod) helped him to ease into the role. However, it was not going to be as easy especially since the region was going to be witness some unprecedented turmoil.

There is no doubt that Vikil had an interesting thought which keep us interested in the story & Ullas has executed it quite decently. It reminded me of Senna Hegde & Karthik Subbaraj's style of film making which had streaks of rawness yet wacky. I certainly liked the way in which the art form was incorporated into the screenplay & some of the characters such as Chaapra's sons were interesting with their fight sequence in the toddy shop reminding of a similar sequence in Tinu Pappachan's "Ajagajantharam". Despite this, it failed to keep me engaged due to the predictability of it & the inability to pack a punch. On the technical side, it was neatly done with Armo's visual being the standout as it was quite impressive.

On the performance front, Chemban Vinod gave a convincing performance while both Merin Jose & Praveen TJ (as Gillappies) were good. As for the rest of the cast, Manikandan & Megha Thomas did their parts aptly while Lukman was average at best.

Verdict: There is no doubt that Ullas has the potential as he has done a fine job despite the screenplay failing to keep us engaged.

Rating: 2.25/5

Thankamani: "Nothing more than a generic revenge drama!!!"

It's been quite a while since we have seen a worthwhile flick from Dileep & hence I was certainly interested to know what he had in store in his latest release. Incidentally, it was with Ratheesh Reghunandan who made a decent debut with "Udal" which was engaging despite the violence. Apart from Ratheesh, another factor that caught my attention was that it was based on the infamous police violence that was unleashed in Thankamani in 1986. So much so, it contributed to the fall of Karunkaran's Govt at that point of time. 

Apparently, Ratheesh had invested a significant amount of time to research on the Thankamani issue & as expected, he gelled fictional aspects to it whereby we have a serial killer (obviously, Dileep) on the prowl. The movie begins with a prominent Communist leader being brutally murdered with Commissioner Arpita (Pranitha Subhash) put in charge of the investigation. Soon enough, it becomes evident that all of this was linked to the Thankamani issue & the efforts of Arpita and her team to put the killer behind bars is what this movie is about. 

Unlike his debut, Ratheesh's efforts were pretty mediocre to say the least as neither the story nor the execution of it manages to engage the audience. Obviously, the real life event was horrendous but the intensity of it is not effectively conveyed to the audience (barring a few scenes) & it gets relegated to the background. The focus is on the serial killer and what we get to see is the tried & tested formula whereby he has a personal vendetta and goes to any lengths to ensure that his plan is executed. The dialogues and the technical aspects has an outdated feel to it and it felt like a mediocre serial at times with poor production quality (damn..can't they even get better wigs???)

Most of the performances didn't have much to talk about with Dileep who was reasonably decent in the older version was rather awkward and miscast in the younger avatar. Both Manoj K Jayan & Neeta Pillai were wasted with poorly etched characters while Siddique & Azees Nedumangad were ok. As for the rest of the cast like Pranitha, Ameer, Sudev etc., they were rather mediocre.

Verdict: Nothing much to say except that it failed to do any justice to such a horrific incident & ended up being a predictable run of the mill revenge drama!!!

Verdict: 1/5

Thundu: "An unusually bland movie from Biju Menon!!!"

A couple of days back Riyas Shereef's "Thundu" was streamed on Netflix & the fact that it came online within three weeks of its release was more than ample proof that the audience did not warm up to it in the theatres. The reason as to why I checked it out was solely because of Biju Menon & I was surprised as to how he he decided to be part of such a woeful flick. 

As the title suggests, the movie is essentially about cheating in examinations (& not 'porn') & begins with Mathew (Ajaz Navaz), a pro in malpractice getting caught in the act at school. Incidentally, his father, Constable Baby (Biju Menon) who advised him not to indulge in such practices failed to walk the talk as he does the same for a promotion. To make matters worse, a series of misfortunes descends upon Baby & his efforts to emerge from this seemingly hopeless situation is what this movie is about.

There is hardly anything worthwhile neither in the manner the script was penned nor the execution of it.  I cant barely remember whether any of the humour actually worked & even the performances which is also primarily due to poor etched characters, had nothing much to write about. 

Verdict: A surprisingly mediocre movie from Biju Menon with the only thing that kind of caught my attention was the cheating innovations.

Rating: 1/5

Iyer in Arabia: "Relevant satire that fails to engage!!!"

Even as we speak about the 21st century, there are a significant number of people who are quite narrow minded & rigid when it comes to matters of religion. This is essentially what MA Nishadh wanted to convey through his latest release & to be frank, his mediocre writing is the primary reason why it failed despite the presence of veteran stellar performers such as Urvashi & Mukesh.

Iyer (Mukesh) was an orthodox father who was extremely conservative in matters of religion while his wife, Thansi Rani (Urvashi) was quite liberal in her views. As one would expect, Iyer wanted his son, Rahul (Dhyan Sreenivasan) to stick onto his ideals which kind of proved to be a hindrance to the latter's ambitions. However, Rahul manages to convince his father, to take up an offer in Dubai. But soon enough, Iyer starts to get wary about Rahul's lifestyle & friends and decides to move to UAE with his wife. How all of this takes a toll on the equation between the father & son is what is explored subsequently.

Apart from a couple of sequences and the earnest performance of the veterans, the movie literally struggles to keep us engaged. There are a couple of characters through which Nishadh tries to convey his view regarding the double standards & narrow minded of religious fanatics. But none of these are characters or sequences that we havent come across in skits or movies in the past. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention as it was average at best. However, both Urvashi & Mukesh have done their parts reasonably well within the scope given to them by their characters. The rest of the cast which includes Dhyan, Alencier, Durga etc were ok. 

Verdict: Reminded of skits at various instances as the script was mediocre to say the least despite the subject having the scope of a relevant satire.

Rating: 1/5

Vivekanandan Viralanu: "Kamal struggles in both writing & execution!!!"

The first question that most people would ask me after reading this review is, why did I bother to watch this flick? Well the answer to that is the presence of Kamal, one of the most respected directors that we have & Grace Antony, who I personally rate the most versatile actress in the present generation with her ability to juggle with humour & drama with equal finesse. But little did I realize that this movie would turn out to be such a pain for the senses. 

Kamal has chosen the 'Shining Star' (wonder what was the basis for such a title), Shine Tom (as Vivekanandan) as the protagonist who seemed to have a happy married life despite his peculiar mannerisms & habits. However, the truth was far from that as he was a sexual sadist with his wife, Sithara (Swasika) and partner, Dayana (Grace Antony), made to go through this ordeal regularly. After  a point, both the ladies to do something about that.

There is no doubt that Kamal has chosen a topic that has found voice over the past decade but there is nothing in the story that gives us a sense of freshness be it in the sequences, dialogues or performances. It had an outdated feel to it & to make matters worse, Shine Tom continued with his trademark irritating persona. The so called progressive statements made in the movie did not have the authenticity to it & gave the impression that in it present form, maybe he should have made it more than a decade back. It was disappointing to see Grace choose to be part of such a mediocre project which barely utilized her talent while Swasika & Mareena did whatever was possible within the scope of their poorly etched characters. 

Verdict: Nothing much to say, except that there was nothing shining in this movie!!!

Rating: Forget it

Aadujeevitham: "An absolute masterpiece from one of the GOAT!!!"

The much awaited magnum opus "Aadujeevitham" from Blessy sir has finally hit the screens after almost 16 years from the time he decided to join hands with Benyamin and immortalize the latter's acclaimed work into celluloid. With a run time that was a shade below 3 h, the veteran film maker transports us to Najeeb's world where we are hooked onto the emotional drama that unfolds in the desert of Saudi Arabia. It was undoubtedly an immersive cinematic experience that transcends boundaries and tugs at our heart cords with its authenticity in its narration & performances. 

As majority of us would have read Benyamin's iconic novel, I guess there isn't need to mention about what this movie is about. However, in the interest of those who haven't read it; it is essentially about Najeeb (Prithvi) who migrates to Saudi in the hope of giving his family a better life. He was accompanied by Hakeem (Gokul) who also came with similar dreams. Unfortunately, fate had other plans & Najeeb ends up being forcefully made to slave at a masara in the middle of nowhere. The hell like experience that he had to go through & how he eventually made it back to his family is what this movie is about. 

The biggest challenge in making a novel into a movie is the micro-detailing that the author pours into his creation due to which the reader literally feels like watching a film. Hence to break that mold that the reader would have created & offer something different for the viewer, is a herculean task for any film-maker especially when it is something as iconic as Benyamin's 'Aadujeevitham'. This is where the brilliance of Blessy came to the fore as he captured the essence of the story in its entirety & crafted it in such a unique manner that made it appear novel yet stayed true to Najeeb's struggles. The veteran director is a pro when it comes to emotional dramas as he knows how to expertly dial it up without overblowing it & that's exactly what he has done here. He has marshalled his resources brilliantly & that is pretty much evident in all the scenes with the technical team putting in top notch performances for which kudos to each & every crew member.

To start off, Sunil K S deserves all the accolades that is going to come his way for the breathtaking visuals that he has captured be it the desert landscape or the lush green geography. This includes many iconic shots such as the camel eye, the oasis, Najeeb quenching his thirst amidst the goats, transition from desert to village from water that overflowed etc. His efforts were complimented by Sreekar Prasad's editing which kept us engaged despite its length. Another major positive is AR Rahman's music, who I don't think has attended so many promotional events for any movie & it would be fair to say that it is undoubtedly his best album in recent times. The sound design by Resul Pookutty was excellent & be sure, to watch this movie in a very good theatre to appreciate his effort. Kudos to Ranjith Ambady & Stephy Xavier for their impressive efforts in the make up & costume department. 

What do I even say about Prithvi? He was just brilliant as he produced his career best performance in a role that I actually thought was beyond his caliber based on his past performances. When I initially heard about this movie, the first actor who I thought would be perfect as Najeeb was Vikram. But boy!!! the physical (could possibly speak of him for this aspect in the same breath as Christian Bale & Vikram) and emotional transformation that Prithvi brought to the character was sensational which was reflected in his gait, eyes and even in his dialogue delivery especially in the latter sequences where we literally hear him speak in a tone reminiscent of a goat. Equally impressive was Gokul who rocked in the climax sequence along with Jimmy Jean Louis. Despite limited screen space, Amala Paul gave a fine performance and their chemistry was palpable. The rest of the cast such as Talib Balushi (as Khafeel), Rik Aby (as Jasser) etc were also good.

Verdict: It is undoubtedly going to sweep all the awards that are on offer & hopefully, will be able to garner good numbers at the box office as it certainly deserves to be watched though I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who might not quite warm up to it. The limited screens in the Middle East is a concern and could affect the numbers, but hope it still manages to touch the 100C mark. If at all there is one aspect that I would have liked to have seen more, then that is with regard to Najeeb's interaction with the herd. But then it is quite understandable as to why Blessy had opted not to explore of it. Anyway in short, dont miss it & do watch it in theatres itself!!!

Rating: 4.25/5

Anweshippin Kandethum, Premalu & Manjummel Boys: "Happy days at the box office!!!"

Even as "Bramayugam" has garnered both critical acclaim & commercial success, there were a couple of others that had released the week priot to that which had kept the box office bells ringing. Though I had watched them last week itself, I didn't quite have the time to pen my opinion about them which incidentally had satisfied the audience in me. The movies in question include Darwin Kuriakose's "Anweshippin Kandethum" & Girish AD's "Premalu". In addition, Chidambaram's "Manjummel Boys" also joined the bandwagon to make it one of the most profitable February of the industry in recent times.

Anweshippin Kandethum: "A well crafted flick that should have searched for a better release date!!!"

As the name & trailer made it evidently clear, Darwin's debut venture that Jinu Abraham had scripted is essentially an investigative drama that is set in the early 1990s. The movie unfolds with the suspended SI Anand (Tovino Thomas) coming to meet his superior who had entrusted on him a case in the hope of easing him back into the force coz of his impressive performance in his maiden investigation. So what had led to his suspension & will the second case bring any difference to his fate after all it had baffled even the finest in CBI ???

There has been a deluge of investigation thrillers and dramas over the past few years which would invariably involve the use of telecom services, CCTVs & innovative tech. However, the time period set meant it was old fashioned crime drama meant none of these was in play & still Jinu managed to keep it engaging. Darwin has crafted it well to the point that we are completely involved in the proceedings which is no mean feat. The character arc given to the protagonist was praise worthy as they showed him being belittled by his seniors & rather than retaliate for the sake of heroism, kept it realistic & showed his sustained fightback. Personally, I was literally hooked to the film until the very end & the manner in which the points are joined to reach the culprit was impressive. Kudos to the crew especially Mohandas for the production design that felt very authentic, Girish Gangadharan for the visuals & Saiju Sreedharan's smooth editing that maintained the flow.

As Anand, Tovino has done a fine job as he perfectly captured the body language of the cop who had to exercise restraint to keep his emotions on check. The rest of his team included Vineeth Thattil, Rahul Rajagopal & Pramod Velliyanad who did their parts well, though I felt the substance given to their roles was not in sync with the amount of screen time they had. Apart from them, each & every artist have done utmost to their roles be it Indrans, Shammi Thilakan, Baburaj, Indrans, Kottayam Nazeer, Sadiq etc.

Verdict: A well crafted movie backed by a good script & impressive performances. It has certainly collected decent numbers, though I felt a more sensible release date might have improved its box office numbers!!!

Rating: 3.25/5 

Premalu: "Feel good rom-com that clicked with the audience...no kidding!!!"

Just two weeks into its release & Girish's third directorial venture has zoomed past the 50C mark with ease. As mentioned in the title, it is a rom-com & pretty much follows the same track as his previous ventures but in a different track. However, unlike the others; this does take a fair bit of time to hit the ground running. Girish has set the stage predominantly in Hyderabad where we have the protagonists moving into the city for different reasons before their paths eventually cross each other. 

Sachin (Naslen), had recently completed his Engineering from Salem & was hoping to move to UK to make a living. However, due to financial constraints; that plan didn't quite materialize & that's when he decided to accompany his buddy, Amal (Sangeeth Prathap) to Hyderabad for GATE coaching. Around the same time, Reenu (Mamitha Baiju) got an offer from an IT MNC & moved to the city to sprout wings for her career aspirations. Incidentally, both of them get to meet at a friend's wedding which leads to their friendship, even as Sachin nursed feelings for her. But his efforts to impress her was bound to be a challenge after all she was quite sure as to what kind of a partner she wanted. 

One of the main highlights is undoubtedly the situational humour especially the dynamics between Sachin & Amal. Girish also made sure that the romance aspect doesn't take centre stage & that I felt was a smart move. At the same time, I felt the humour could have dialed in a bit more evenly, as it wasn't a laugh riot for me, unlike what I heard from many others. Obviously, love is blind & there are cinematic liberties, but the climax didn't quite work for me; though I do agree with the manner Girish chose to end it. On the technical side, it was neatly done with Vishnu Vijay's music deserving special mention.

The USP is undoubtedly the performances with almost all of them having done a praise worthy job as it elevated many of the sequences solely because of them. I would rate Mamitha's performance a tad higher than Naslen & it is also because of the manner that Girish and Kiran Josey had etched it. Naslen continues to impress with the roles offered & hope he continues to get good roles. Shyam Mohan as Aadhi was spot on who camouflages his possessive creep nature with goofiness. Sangeeth has some of the best lines while Akhila Bhargavan was fine though Meenakshi bordered on being irritating. 

Verdict: A feel good rom-com that worked primarily on the basis of its fine cast who has elevated many scenes which would have failed to work in the hands of less talented artists. 

Rating: 2.75/5

Manjummel Boys: "Tight adichadaaa in the latter segment from a technical perspective makes it thoroughly engaging!!!"

In case you had seen the promotional events of this latest flick from Chidambaram, you would realized that this survival thriller is adapted from a real life event that happened to a group of friends during their trip to the Guna Caves in Kodaikanal. After a successful directorial debut with "Jan.E.Man", Chidambaram has chosen to pen his script on this incident as a tribute to their friendship, perseverance & hope. 

Based in 2006, a group of friends known as the 'Manjummel Boys' decide to make a trip to Kodaikanal. After having a blast, they decide to head back until when one of them suggests that one of the highlights in that region were the Guna Caves which ought not to be missed. However, on reaching the spot, they find that some of the iconic section of the caves were cordoned off by the authorities. But the reckless nature of the team saw them explore those parts with scant regard for the dangers that lurked there. Little did they realize what lay in store for them as one of their friends fell into a seemingly depthless hole. What subsequently unfolds are their efforts to save their friend even as history stated that no one had ever managed to escape alive from that area also known as the 'Devil's kitchen'.

To be frank, until the time the movie reaches the cave section; there is hardly anything in it that could be reasoned as being engaging & humorous. On the contrary, it turned out to be rather monotonous. But from the time, the friends step foot into the forbidden area; Chidambaram & his technical team elevates the sequences with their skill. Chidambaram's exquisite vision for that section, be it the horror of Subash (Sreenath Bhasi) falling into the pitch, the manner in which that was shot, the body language of their fear struck friends & people who are called into help & the rescue operation was pretty top notch. Sushin Shyam's BGM was impressive as always as it captured the mood of the sequences perfectly & the unique choice of using the sound track from "Guna" which though seemed odd was indeed an excellent choice. Hats off to Ajayan Chalissery for the production design & Shyju Khalid's cinematography, not to forget the contribution of the sound department.

Each & every artist has done justice to their roles and kudos to Ganapathi who also donned the role of the casting director pretty well. Bhasi & Soubin Shahir had the more heavy lifting roles, & both of them aced their part. The rest of the cast have also done their parts extremely well be it Balu, Lal Jr (his act really surprised me), Ganapathi, Deepak Parambol etc. to name a few.

Verdict:  A movie that instantly comes to mind is Bharathan's "Malootty" & Chidambaram's effort will surely be appreciated for its technical quality. It belongs to that group of movies that could be better appreciated if viewed in theatres. So do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Bramayugam: "Exquisite viewing experience backed by brilliant performances!!!"

Which movie in recent times had the most interesting publicity designs in the lead up to its release? I guess most people would have different opinions but if I am to answer that, it is undoubtedly the work done by Aesthetic Kunjamma for Rahul Sadasivan's "Bramayugam". For one of the most awaited movie of the year, the hype & expectations were already sky high & the design team took it up a couple of notches. So how was the experience inside the theatre? Oh boy...it was just exquisite. 

Based on the script by Rahul Sadasivan & dialogues by the esteemed TD Ramakrishnan, the movie is set in Southern Malabar in the 17th century. Thevan (Arjun Ashokan) who belonged to the Paanan community was on the run from the slave market but before he could reach the safety of familiar territory, he found himself lost in the forest. His urge for survival brought him to a dilapidated 'mana' where the patriarch, Kodumon Potti (Mammukka) impressed with the Paanan's singing abilities gave him refuge, even as his cook (Siddharth Bharathan) didn't approve it. For Thevan, it was a pleasant surprise to be given respect but little did he realize that it was the beginning of something that would change his life forever. 

First & foremost, hats off to Rahul for his wise decision to shoot this movie in monochrome as it has massively benefitted in creating the desired mood and effect that the genre demanded. Even as it is crafted as a horror/survival thriller, the topic that it essentially conveys has strong political tones. The oppression on the basis of caste, the intoxicating effect of power & how it breeds greed is all portrayed through a trio of complex characters in an eerie setup. Equally impressive were TD's dialogues that made the interactions authentic to the era without being too dramatic. At the same time, I did feel that the story could have been more impactful towards the end as it felt a tad hurried. 

Kudos to the technical team as all of them deserves to be praised for a fine job done which includes Shehnad Jalal's cinematography as the black & white format enhanced the horror aspect. Jotish Shankar's team was impressive in the art department be it the 'mana' & the attention to detail with regard to the artefacts while Christo Xavier's BGM and music was in sync with the mood of the movie. There is no denying that it would appear slow paced in the earlier segments which might be a dampener for some, but once you get immersed in its mood, Rahul's craft does manage to get us transported to that era. 

By now, pretty much all of you would have heard numerous comments singing praises about Mammukka's performances & to be absolutely frank, it is completely justified. In a career that has spanned close to half a century, the legend has never ceased to amaze & as Kodumon Potty, he has taken it to a whole new level. 'Brilliant' will be an understatement as I believe this is undoubtedly one of his finest & I would consider it surprising if he is overlooked for his fourth National award. Both Siddharth & Arjun have given their career best performance be it in their facial expressions & body language that mirrored the struggles that their characters suffered. Apart from the trio, Amalda Liz & Manikandan appears for a couple of sequences and they were fine as well.

Verdict: It is a great time for movie lovers with some back to back creditable flicks but from a business perspective, I feel the industry needs to be more smart as to when they plan their releases rather than eat up on each other's revenue. As for "Bramayugam", it is an experimental flick & might not cater to the family audience, which could affect its box office collections in the long run (hope I am proved wrong). But trust me, the performances are brilliant & definitely experience Rahul's craft in a well equipped theatre as it is totally worth it!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

 

Malaikottai Vaaliban: "Kandathum Kettathum Nijam, technically impressive but an underwhelming screenplay!!!"

The much awaited magnum opus of LJP hit the screens on the eve of Republic Day & from whatever I have heard, the opinions has been rather mixed. Well obviously everyone perceives each movie according to their own taste & hence it is important that other's opinion are taken with a pinch of salt before you have actually seen it. So did the LJP magic work this time around??? Since this was his first collaboration with Lalettan, the pre-release expectations had touched stratospheric levels. 

As LJP had said in the promotions, the movie is set in a fictional space & time where the protagonist, Malaikottai Vaaliban (Lalettan) is an invincible wrestler whose feats of valour & strength had travelled far and wide. He moved from place to place in search of new challenges in the company of his foster father, Ayyanar (Hareesh Peradi) & brother, Chinnapayyan (Manoj Moses). One such duel saw him prevail over Chamathakan (Danish Sait), who swore to have his revenge at any cost & that essentially is what this movie is about.

Before even talking about the script & screenplay, it is imperative to mention that from a technical perspective this is undoubtedly one of the finest crafted Malayalam movie that I had watched. Kudos to Madhu Neelakandan, for the exquisite frames, be it in bright light or in the dark, in the narrow corridors or in the vast expanse of land; it was an absolute treat to the eyes. Equally brilliant was the sound department, Gokul Das's art direction & the work done by the costume team. Prashant Pillai's music was unique as it was in sync with the mood of the movie and elevated the impact of Vikram Mor's well choreographed (for most parts) action sequences. In short, it would be surprising if Madhu & few others doesn't get recognized on a National level for their efforts.

Coming to the story, it has that typical LJP touch whereby his vision manages to create that larger than life aura for Vaaliban, the choice of colour gradients depending on the mood & the nod to spaghetti Western, Samurai flicks including ones back home such as "Sholay", "Baasha" etc. Even as all of these makes it a grand spectacle on the screen, it fails to engage the audience in terms of the storyline except for the initial interest generated with the introduction of the protagonist. It was surprising that someone as accomplished as P.S Rafeeque came with an underwhelming screenplay which lacked cohesiveness for most parts such as the Portuguese caricatures to name one instance. However, it starts to come together in the last 30-45 mins whereby it draws our attention to the series of events that unfold rather hurriedly culminating in a climax that literally set the stage for a sequel (somewhere along the lines of "Brahmastra").  

As Vaaliban, Lalettan was impressive as he made the character believable both in terms of what the warrior goes through mentally despite the accomplishments, body language and the agility that the role demanded. His voice modulation in some of the intense scenes were also top notch. Danish Sait was a pleasant surprise as the scheming antagonist whose laughs reminiscent of 'Joker' was haunting. Hareesh Peradi deserves praise while Manoj Moses, Sonalee Kulkarni (as Rangarani), Katha Nandi (as Jamanthi) & Manikandan Achari did their parts well.

Verdict: There is no doubt that it is a visual spectacle & deserves to be watched once on the big screen just for that. However, there is no denying that the screenplay failed to keep us invested in it except towards the very end. In short, falls well short of expectations & if at all, you intend to watch it; please do so in theatres coz you are unlikely to enjoy it as much on the OTT!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Some of the hits & misses of Bollywood in the latter half of 2023

It's been quite an eventful Christmas for the various film industries as we had big banner releases that had taken the box office by storm. Well I have already penned my opinion about them & I thought to make use of that holiday season to pen my views about some of the movies that I had watched but didn't have the time to write about them. This writeup is about many of the Bollywood movies that I had watched in the last six months of 2023. So without further ado, here it goes.

Animal: "Sandeep takes violence to the repulsive level!!!"

Even before the release of the movie, it was the talk of the town since Sandeep Reddy had announced that the violence & misogyny would be manifold compared to his earlier blockbuster, "Kabir Singh". Well he has been true to his word as it was just way too much for me, to the point that it felt repulsive & that certainly affected my viewing appearance irrespective of the monstrous numbers that it continues to garner at the box office. 

The script that Sandeep had penned is based on the obsessive adoration that a son had for his father & the extent to which he goes to showcase that, so that the latter would be proud of him. The protagonist is Vijay Singh (Ranbir Kapoor), the son of the billionaire, Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor) was unable to find the pride that he had hoped for from his father & circumstances panned out in such a way that he was sent packing to boarding school abroad. His father's attitude remained the same even after he returned coz of his issues with his brother in law & decision to marry his school crush, Geetanjali (Rashmika Mandanna). But their relationship equation changes when there is a murder attempt on his father & Vijay returns to take charge. 

The no-holds barred attitude of the protagonists is the signature style of Sandeep & he takes it several notches up in his latest outing. Even as I found the violence nonsensical & abhorrent after a point of time, I do have to admit that the cinematic vision of Sandeep is quite unique and deserves praise, though I dont know how many will embrace it. Technically, I felt the movie was impressive be it the imaginative action sequences (however, the fight between Vijay & the masked assailants with the axe in a corridor seemed like an extravagant sequence inspired from LJP's "Nayakan"), Amit Roy's excellent cinematography & the impressive variety music with 'Papa Meri Jaan' rendered by Sonu Nigam being my favourite. At the same time, Sandeep could have kept the movie much shorter as it does take a toll on our patience. 

Among the younger lot, Ranbir Kapoor is undoubtedly one of the finest actor in Bollywood & as Vijay, he was bleedy good at it. His portrayal of the obsessive son who would go to any lengths was spot on & giving him apt support was Anil Kapoor, who was equally impressive. Bobby Deol did his part well though surprisingly, it was more of an extended guest appearance while Rashmika & Tripti Dimri were ok. 

Verdict: As per box office reports, it has made a humongous 880 odd crores which would have made the makers go laughing to the bank. Though the cast & crew did impress me, the screenplay as such felt more like an over dosage of testosterone which seemed to go on & on for close to 201 minutes!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Sam Bahadur: "A brilliant Vicky Kaushal makes this biopic worthwhile!!!

I have always loved biopics but not many in our Indian film industry has always been able to justice to it as they are invariably not aware where to draw the line between reality and cinematic liberties. Hence when the biopic of India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw was announced, I was hopeful as the project was being helmed by Meghna Gulzar who has already made a name for herself with some impressive movies to her credit.

The movie unfolds with events from 1934 where Sam is part of the first batch of cadets to be trained at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. Subsequently, Meghna & Shantanu Shrivastava has explored all the major events in his life with the focus being on the influence that he had on his men & the political circles. Kudos to both of them that in terms of a character sketch of that legend, it was spot on as we are given a proper view about who he was & what made him so charismatic. They made sure that jingoism & blood seeking war cries are not squeezed into the story which made it for a much grounded viewing experience. At the same time, that would have made many feel that it didn't quite have the punch that we usually expect from such flicks.

Could there has been a best actor to portray Sam? After having watched it, I can confidently say that no one else could have been better than Vicky at it. He was literally mind boggling as his gait, posture, expression & diction were just like the legendary field marshal. It would be a shame if he isn't recognized for his efforts as it was certainly one of the finest of the year. The Dangal sisters were both part of the project with both Sanya Malhotra (as Sam's wife, Siloo) & Fatima Sana (as Indira Gandhi) having done justice to their parts. There were a plethora of other artists, but none of them quite stood out.

Verdict: The biopic as such comes across as rather bland to be frank but Vicky Kaushal's brilliant performance makes it worthwhile. So do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

12th Fail: "Among the very best of the year!!!"

Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a name that doesn't need much introduction after all he has been part of some of the celebrated movies for close to 50 years such as "Parinda", "1942: A Love Story", "Munna Bhai" series. Over the past two decades, his directorial ventures has been far & few. Hence when his latest movie "12th Fail" was announced which he had penned based on Anurag Pathak's book by the same name, it generated expectations . The story is the real life account of Manoj Kumar Sharma who rose from the struggles that life threw at him to become an IPS officer. 

From a cinematic point of view, it is a predictable story about an underdog but the manner in which Vinod had infused life in those proceedings without resorting to clichés is what made this movie endearing. It is essentially an emotional movie but rather than give a melodramatic feel to it, he infuses humour, inspiration & determination to the characters and sequences that it keeps us in good spirits. On the technical side it is neatly done be it Rangarajan Ramabadran's cinematography & Shantanu Moitra's music.

But the heart & soul of the movie is Vikrant Massey's brilliant performance as the protagonist. The manner in which he portrayed the innocence, determination & earnestness of  the character was spot on as we are kept engrossed in his journey. Each & every artist have done utmost justice to their roles be it Anshumaan Pushkar as Gauri bhayya, Medha Shankar as Shraddha, Anand Joshi as Pritam, Harish Khanna & Geeta Aggrawal as his parents, Priyanshu Chatterjee as DSP etc.

Verdict: Undoubtedly, one of the best movies of the year which proved that Vinod still has the skill to know the pulse of the audience. To add to that, Vikrant's performance made it even better!!!

Rating: 3.75/5

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani: "Karan Johan mixes opulence with content!!!"

It is no secret that Karan Johar's movies are taken with a pinch of salt with one section of the society warming up to it while the rest abhorring it. Well the reason for that divide is primarily because of the glitz and glamour that he puts into it without much content, due to which many don't quite relate to it. However, that doesn't imply that he is not a good story teller coz we have seen him do it (albeit in his own extravagant style). His latest release as always felt more like opulence on the outside, but it did have content as well. 

The script was penned by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan & Sumit Roy is essentially about the cultural clash between a Punjabi & Bengali family. The Punjabi family were the Randhavas who owned the famous Dhanalakshmi sweets named after their matriarch (Jaya Bachchan). They were a family whose traditions and mind-set were still stuck in the past. She ran the business with her son, as her husband, Kanwal (Dharmendra) suffered from amnesia & was confined to the wheelchair. Incidentally, when Kanwal utters the name, 'Jamini'; his grandson, Rocky (Ranveer Singh) decides to locate her in the hope that it would his grandfather's condition. That search eventually led him to Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt), a renowned news anchor whose grandmother happened to be Jamini (Shabana Azmi). The influence that it has on both the families as a result of this is what this movie is about.

Apart from the usual Karan's film making template, the characters also poses credible questions on various topics such as patriarchy, cultural chauvinism, social conditioning, women empowerment & gender equality. However, it is not necessarily path breaking coz we have come across many movies in the past that has done it & that too in a much subtle manner. It kind of reminded me of being a variant of Mohan Raja's "Santhosh Subramaniam". Despite the effort to bring in political correctness, the execution of the project still felt old-school & at close to 3 h, it is definitely a tad too long.

On the technical side, Manush Nandan's visuals were fine while the rest were average at best. The performances were pretty good to be honest with both Ranveer & Alia doing justice to what their characters demanded. Both Dharmendra & Shabana were fine while Toti Roy & Churni Ganguli as Alia's parents were good though Jaya Bachchan's role didn't offer as much as scope as we know she is capable of. 

Verdict: Apart from making big bucks at the box office, it is also a movie that does have sensible content packaged in a typical glossy Karan Johan cinematic style. In short, it is worth a try; though if you don't like the glitz & over the top opulence of his movies, then don't bother!!!

Rating: 2/5

Tiger 3: "Despite Salman's presence, it lacked the punch of the previous installments!!!"

The third installment of the 'Tiger' series was one of the most awaited movies of the year & the hype was heightened after it was announced that it would be part of the YRF Spy Universe, not to forget the much celebrated cameo of Salman in "Pathaan". Anyway the movie did roaring business at the box office making it the fifth highest Hindi grosser of 2023. However, there is no doubt that Maneesh Sharma's directorial effort was the weakest among the three. 

This time around the story unfolds in 1999 where Zoya (Katrina Kaif / Gurket Kaur) is witness to her father, ISI agent Rehan Nazar (Aamir Bashir) being killed in a bomb blast. Subsequently, his protege, Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi) supports her & motivates her to join the ISI. The movie cuts forward to the present day where Tiger (Salman) is called upon by RAW to rescue his former handler, Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Though Tiger manages to rescue Gopi, the latter succumbs to his injuries but not before revealing that Zoya does have some sinister hand in the dealings.

Apart from bank rolling the project, Aditya Chopra has penned the script & as a whole, it looked interesting since it was about the internal crisis in Pakistan rather than the typical Indo-Pak friction. But Sridhar Raghavan's screenplay failed to add the necessary punch to bank on the core thought & what we are served with is a standard template of numerous action sequences in various locations. The action choreography, production value & Anay Goswami's cinematography were top notch with the CGI effects also deserving praise. Even when the screenplay falters, the performance of both Salman & Katrina were impressive in both the emotional and action sequences. However, Emraan Hashmi was the pick among the lot while Simran & Revathi did their parts aptly. As for SRK's cameo, it was good though the impact wasnt as much as Salman in "Pathaan" due to lack of the novelty factor.

Verdict: On the basis of the story, it definitely under performed due to an extremely average screenplay. It is however still worth a watch & that is because of the performances!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

The Great Indian Family: "Vicky's earnest performance fails to salvage the movie!!!"

More often than not, Vicky Kaushal has always stood out whenever his movie hits the screens irrespective of the fate of it at the box office. One such example is Vijay Acharya's "The Great Indian Family" that turned out to be a dud for the Yash Raj Films. To be frank, it wasn't as bad as the final numbers were; though the response from the audience would have reminded Vijay & Aditya of "Thugs of Hindostan", their previous venture together.

This time around, Vijay had chose to pen his thoughts around the need to embrace diversity & religious camaraderie. Incidentally, we are living in an age where questions are repeatedly raised about the socio-political situation in the country. Hence this kind of a story was a welcome change from the over dosage of violence that we have been treated to in pretty much every other movie. Billu (Vicky) was the undisputed king of devotional songs & was son of Siyaram Tripathi (Kumud Mishra), the most respected priest in their region. Everything seemed to be moving along fine until he received a letter that claimed that he belonged to a different family & religion. 

It is essentially a comedy drama where Vijay tries to convey his point as to how similar people indeed are, though they might have different religious beliefs and customs. In terms of the content, I am not quite sure as to what people actually expected coz as a light hearted take on the subject at hand; I felt Vijay did do justice. On the technical side, Ayananka Bose's visuals were fine while the rest doesn't deserve special mention. As I mentioned earlier, Vicky has done a fine job with credible support from Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa etc, though I dont think they were properly utilised. 

Verdict: Didn't feel it was as bad as the box office numbers indicated.

Rating: 2/5

Mission Raniganj: "No rescue for Akshay from another failure!!!"

The last time around Tinu Suresh Desai had directed a movie, it had won Akshay his maiden National Award for "Rustom". With all due respect to Akki, I still fail to understand as to how he was awarded for it. Anyway their latest film together was about the Raniganj Coalfield Collapse of 1989 in which 65 trapped miners were rescued by the brilliance of the mining engineer, Jaswant Singh Gill. The screenplay was prepared by Vipul K Rawal & to be absolutely blunt, there is nothing novel about it.

There is no need for a synopsis for the story coz it is pretty much standard affair whereby we have Jaswant Singh (Akshay) up against a bunch of government officials who are egoistic and lazy. They are prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that Jaswant's plan fails & the public has no faith on him, while his confident wife sing praises about his valour & selflessness. Anywaz Jaswant proves his detractors  wrong & becomes the saviour of the masses. There is literally nothing more in the story apart from what I had mentioned & that is exactly the problem with this movie. 

The story, the characters & everything related to the mission is just cliched stuff as no effort has been put in by the makers to research more into the incident. Tinu failed to provide the excitement & tension that a mission of this magnitude ought to have given the audience. None of the technical aspects was worth mentioning & even the CGI effects was damn average. As for performances, Akshay goes through the motions with a pathetic artificial beard, Kumud Mishra was wasted, Pawan Malhotra was fine while the rest of the cast were average at best.

Verdict: The inability of the makers to make a meaningful biopic that does complete justice to the protagonist still continues to plague the industry. As expected, the audience did not give any rescue for the makers at the box office!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

The Vaccine War: "Deserving tribute to the scientific community with undeniable shades of propaganda!!!"

When Vivek Agnihotri announced his latest project, I was a bit sceptical as to what to expect since I wasn't a huge fan of his "Kashmir Files". However, I still decided to give it a try as it was about the scientific community that had tirelessly for the development of Covaxin, India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. Being a senior scientist & having worked with mRNA vaccines, I was keen to know as to how it was captured on celluloid.

The movie is based on Dr. Balram Bhargava's 'Going Viral', the former Director General of ICMR who spearheaded the vaccine development mission. It is literally about the challenges & struggles the scientists at ICMR & NIV had to go through as they raced against time to get the vaccine rolled out. Vivek deserves appreciation for capturing it pretty well & also include references regarding the attitude of pharma companies, WHO etc., towards India. On the whole, this time & effort that he invests into this aspect of this story was impressive. 

However, there are a couple of points that stuck out as a sore thumb which was a clear indication of political propaganda. There was an urge to emphasise on the point that the scientific community was given the freedom to perform under the new Government while discarding the fact that our scientists & the research facilities have done praise worthy work in the past as well. The line between raising legitimate questions & vested interested are blurred here, whereby it is made to appear that the scientific editor Rohini Singh (Raima Sen) asked questions only with the intention to show them in poor light coz of foreign sponsors.

As for the cast & crew, almost all of them have done justice to their roles be it Nana Patekar, Pallavi Joshi, Girija Oak, Nivedita Bhattacharya etc. to name a few. Udaysingh Mohite's cinematography was fine while the other departments also neatly did their parts. 

Verdict: I might be a bit biased but I certainly felt Vivek has done a fine job & given a befitting tribute to the scientists. At the same time, it still seems that he wants to emphasise on his political inclinations!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Jaane Jaan: "Does justice to the adaptation!!!"

How often have we come across inspired or copied Indian movies that give credit to the original? To be honest, not so often. However, Sujoy Ghosh who has given us movies like "Kahaani" etc., announced that his latest movie is based on Keigo Higashino's popular Japanese novel 'The Devotion of Suspect X'. Since there are quite a few movies that were adapted from it, I presume most of you would have a fairly good idea about the story.

The movie unfolds in Kalimpong, where Maya (Kareena Kapoor) is a single mother who runs a cafeteria. Her neighbour was a respected Mathematics professor, Naren Vyas (Jaideep Ahlawat) who had a crush on her though his reclusive nature prevented him from expressing it. Things take a turn when Maya's abusive ex-husband, Ajit (Saurabh Sachdeva) from whom she had fled many years before, shows up at her place & threatens to take her daughter.  This leads to a tussle between them & eventually led to Ajit being killed. At this juncture, Naren steps in to help her & whether they manage to outsmart the police is what is explored in the rest of the movie. 

All the artists who were involved in this project have done utmost justice to their roles be it Kareena, Jaideep, Vijay Verma & Saurabh. Jaideep has been going from strength to strength after each movie & over here as the introverted Naren, he was bang on in his body language. Kareena effectively conveyed the tension of the character while Vijay was spot on as the intelligent cop. The technical aspects were impressive as well as Avik Mukhopadhyay's frames & Urvashi Saxena editing ensured that the thrill & tension was sustained throughout the movie. Kudos to Sujoy for the subtle changes that he incorporated in the screenplay, since most of us are already aware as to what is in store at the end. However, he manages to make sure that the twists & the reason behind it still had an element of freshness to it.

Verdict: The audience had already given its verdict as it emerged as the most viewed Hindi movie on Netflix of 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed what Sujoy had created & kudos to both the cast & crew for a job well done. Do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Mast Mein Rehna Ka: "Delightful performances in a feel good movie!!!"

With numerous OTT platforms, movies having a direct release in them is a common affair nowadays & Vijay Maurya's latest release also happened to be one of them. It had released on Amazon Prime last month & he had written this comedy drama in collaboration with Payal Arora. It is essentially about two elderly individuals who find companionship in each other that lights up their lonely lives. 

Kamath (Jackie Shroff) has been a widower for quite a while & wished that his days were numbered than having to lead this mundane life. Incidentally, his life takes a turn when his apartment is burgled & he decides to find someone with whom he could strike a connection. That search led him to Parkash Handa (Neena Gupta) whose apartment also gets similarly burgled & the two strike a chord, though their demeanors were poles apart. How that friendship becomes a source of hope and happiness for their life ahead is what Vijay tries to portray here.

It is essentially a feel good movie that gives us a smile as the two couples show that we need to forge ahead even when solitude and adversity threaten to take away our zest for life. Each of the four individuals are from different walks of life, who find companionship in each other coz of similar challenges that life throw at them. All the technical aspects were handled neatly & the dialogues were meaningful. Jackie was top notch as this was the best performance that I have seen from him in ages. Neena Gupta was impressive as always while Abhishek Chauhan & Monika Panwar were good. Even Rakhi Sawant did her part aptly.

Verdict: A feel good movie with some delightful performances makes it a good watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben