Even as "Jailer" had the crowd flocking to the theatres in South India, Bollywood decided to cash in on the long weekend with sequels of "Gadar" & "OMG". Well as in most cases, both of them doesn't quite match upto the impact that its prequels had created. However, the box office numbers tells a totally different story as it has been clocking mind boggling numbers & hence it's quite evident that my opinion is quite different from many others. So why didn't the movies work for me???
Gadar 2: "Anil Sharma's movie sensibility still stuck in the past!!!"
When "Gadar" had released in 2001, I was in my second year of Medical college & over the past two decades, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Though it was a blockbuster, I didn't enjoy it much even then & with the passage of time, the movie has also led to many trolls. So the next question naturally would be, why have I bothered to watch it? The answer to that is Sunny Deol coz it's been quite a while since we have seen him on screen with the last one being "Chup" in which I felt he did a decent job.
The movie begins 17 years after the events in the prequel & against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) & Sakeena (Ameesha Patil) led a contented life along with their son, Utkharsh (Jeete), until Tara goes missing in action during an attack between the armies at the border. This is when Utkharsh decides to go to Pakistan to rescue his father who was believed to be in one of the high security prisons. What subsequently happens is pretty much predictable as Shaktimaan Talwar has just rehashed the prequel and followed the exact same template (the insane decibel level from Sunny, the hand pump etc) with the only change being the characters.
There is nothing in the movie that could be termed as fresh and different as it literally felt like watching something that was more than two decades old. So much so, there were quite a few sequences that were unintentionally hilarious. However, Mithoon's music was reasonably fine while Sunny Deol gave an honest performance, to the extent that we will actually buy the fact that he is indeed capable of wrecking havoc. Ameesha was pathetic while Utkharsh, Manish Wadhwa (as Major Iqbal) & Simran Kaur (as Muskaan) were average.
Verdict: Certainly glad for the makers that it has grossed close to 400 C. But the movie just didn't work for me!!!
Rating: 1/5
OMG 2: "Still impresses with its execution laced with humour!!!"
About a decade has passed since Umesh Shukla's "OMG" had released where the exploitation of people on the basis of religion was explored. This time around, the responsibility of calling the shots was on Amit Rai who had also penned the story where the focus is on the need for sex education in schools. The protagonist this time around is Kanti Sharan (Pankaj Tripathi), an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Life moves along peacefully until his son is rusticated from school for immoral conduct. Though Kanti was hard on his son initially, it eventually dawns on him that the school authorities also need to take responsibility for not giving proper guidance to his son. So he decides to take them to court & the events that unfold is showcased in the movie.
The need for sex education in schools is conveyed reasonably without adopting a preachy pattern. Just as in the prequel, the subject matter is conveyed with humour and that is an effective of putting the message across. The manner in which God's presence is shown to provide hints to the protagonist was also impressive as it does not resort to any showcase of divine power. The technical aspects were handled well though it does not deserve special mention.
Just like Paresh Rawal in the prequel, Pankaj has done a fine job as the protagonist as his way of presentation of dialogues and body language were all spot on. Despite a cameo, I personally felt Akki was pretty damn good in Lord Shiva's avatar & actually better than his version in the prequel. Yami Gautam was good though I felt the role demanded a much tougher character. As for the rest, Pavan Malhotra (as the Judge), Geeta Agrawal (as Kanti's wife) etc have all done their parts aptly.
Verdict: The move has been termed as a blockbuster as the cost of production was modest by normal standards. It is certainly worth a watch as it does provides a few laughs while talking about a relevant subject!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Ghoomer: "Impressive performances makes this standard template engaging!!!"
It's no secret that I love sports especially cricket & hence I have been a huge fan of sports dramas. So when one of my favourite Bollywood director, R. Balki decided to craft his latest creation in that genre; I was more than eager to check it out. The trailer looked promising & the movie also lived upto the expectations that were created. In terms of the template adopted by Balki along with Rahul Sengupta & Rishi Virmani, it is pretty much along expected lines but the former managed to keep the audience engaged.
Anina (Saiyami Kher), a promising batter has been chosen for her debut series to England, but fate had other plans as she met with an accident whereby her right hand had to be amputated. However, Padam Singh Sodhi (Abhishek Bachchan), an ex- Indian cricketer instills confidence in her that she can make it back into th.e team as a bowler. But his methods were unconventional & there was no guarantee whether their efforts will even bear fruit. In effect, it is crafted along the lines of Nagesh Kukunoor's "Iqbal"
Usually in sports dramas, the biggest issue is the authenticity with which the game is shown; but over here Balki has managed to ace that part. Kudos to his choice of Saiyami & Abhishek, both of whom were fantastic in their roles with the former's body language and skills would have convinced many that she is indeed a professional cricketer. Even the family dynamics that Balki was interesting as it featured a emotional father who constantly prayed for his daughter's success while her grandmother was a cricket buff & a Roger Federer fan who preferred to keep her emotions in check. The latter half had a 'Lagaan' vibe with 'Munna Bhai' like emotions, so I presume that will give you an idea as to what to expect. On the technical side, Amit Trivedi's music and Vishal Sinha's cinematography were good.
As I mentioned earlier, both Saiyami & Abhishek have done utmost justice to their parts. Abhishek's dialogue delivery in certain segments reminded me of his father but still managed to own his part in his own typical style. Just as in the case of all his previous movies, Balki yet again had Big B in a cameo role which in all probability would have been cheesy & corny, but the veteran still managed to bring class to it with his baritone. As for the rest, Shabana Azmi, Angad Bedi etc did their parts aptly.
Verdict: It doesn't quite have as much authenticity that we would normally expect from Balki's movies but the cinematic liberties taken and the impressive performances makes it an enjoyable watch!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
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