Haseena Parkar review: "Hardly any insights into the biography!!!"

Less than a week back, Iqbal Kaskar the brother of the dreaded gangster Dawood Ibrahim was picked up by the Mumbai Police on extortion charges. Incidentally, he was arrested from the apartment of his late sister Haseena Parkar in Nagpada. Call it an unbelievable coincidence since the biographical film on Haseena Parkar released this weekend. Since I barely had any idea about her, I was interested to know as to how she became "Appa" & the "Queen of Nagpada". So does it captivate the audience??

The film unfolds in 2007, when Haseena (Shraddha Kapoor) the sister of Dawood (Siddhanth Kapoor) had to present herself in High Court for extortion charges leveled against her. Her lawyer's defense was that she was the victim of her brother's actions & that she had no hand whatsoever in any crime. The prosecutor tried to prove the charges to no avail as Haseena had an answer to all the accusations. She elaborates on various happenings of her life & as to how her brother moved on to the dark side. So was she innocent as she saidor was she indeed the head of her brother's shady business deals in the country???

Apoorva Lakhia is a rather well known name when it comes to making movies based on terrorism & underworld. Though to be brutally honest, more often than not it's all slick with hardly any substance. His last venture was the abysmal remake of "Zanjeer" & his latest venture is no different. The blame also lies equally on Suresh Nair who had penned the script & screenplay. Apart from the initial build up, the movie is bereft of anything that keeps us invested in it. There is no twists or turns, nor anything as such that a person who has no idea about the protagonist cant guess. On the technical side, there is nothing to fault as such be it the visuals by Fasahat Khan or the music by Sachin-Jigar.

Shraddha Kapoor might have got the first meaty role of her career but the script didnt offer much opportunity to showcase what she is capable of. Apart from her initial appearance, there is nothing that makes us go ga-ga. Her brother Siddhanth as Dawood wasnt able to impart the fear that we associate with that character. As for the rest, Ankur Bhatia, Rajesh Tailang, Priyanka Sethia have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: As the trailer imparts a dark feel, the takers will be less for sure & to make it worse, the script is mediocre. It fails to fascinate the audience with the events that unfold in the narration. In short, it will tank at the box office!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Simran review: "Kangana nails her role though the screenplay doesnt quite!!!"

This weekend could be termed as the week of "Girl Power" as we had Sindhu making the nation proud with her exploits at the Korean Super Series. Even in Bollywood, we have a women centric movie with Kangana Ranaut, the reigning queen in the lead. There were numerous controversies leading to the release of the movie with regard to her statements on her male counterparts & nepotism. Whatever might be the case, the trailer of "Simran" seems to convey that it is going to be yet another gem from Kangana. With Hansal Mehta calling the shots, the quality of the movie wont be in question. But will it be able to satiate the audience???

Praful Patel (Kangana Ranaut) is a divorced, independent Gujarati female who worked in the hospitality industry in Atlanta. As her parents constantly nagged her to get hitched, she has been on the lookout for a suitable apartment where she could move into. After years of hard work, she finally managed to hoard sufficient savings along with a loan from the bank that would enable her to get a place of her choice. But before she could seal the deal, she goes on to Sin City with her cousin. Just like it has happened to many, she loiters into the casino & gets hooked onto the dealer's table once she starts winning. Hoping to cash in on more money, she gambles the next day as well & that's when reality hits her hard as she looses whatever she had including the deposit to her apartment. Her desperation to win it back makes her borrow money from a loan shark. Little did she realise that she was in an absolute quagmire which would change her life forever. 

Hansal Mehta's credentials as a director is well established with movies like "Aligarh", "Shahid", "City Lights" etc to his credit. His latest venture is loosely based on Sandeep Kaur aka "Bombshell Bandit", a Punjabi Sikh nurse who is presently serving jail time in the US for robbing several banks. The story by Apurva Asrani as such is interesting especially the complex character of Kangana that is intriguing, childish & crazy all rolled into one. But his screenplay falters in the second half, as the robbery, police investigation & climax seemed rather silly & preposterous. All the technical aspects has been handled adequately be it Anuj Rakesh's cinematography, Antara Lahiri's editing & Sachin Jigar's music.

Coming to performances, it was a one woman show with Kangana being absolutely brilliant. Her goofiness in Vegas reminded me of Mr. Bean which was spot on. Equally impressive was her ability to convey her vulnerability & establishes her position as one of the finest actresses in the industry. Since the story basically revolved around her, none of the other characters barely got much screen space but even then Sohum Shah as Sameer deserves praise along with characters like Praful's parents & the bar attender in Vegas. 

Verdict: Well it's not a type of movie that will be lapped up by the masses but it will have the urban audience interested. There is no doubt that the film has flaws in the screenplay just like the protagonist. But if you ask me, Kangana's performance definitely makes it worth watching. In short, do check it out!!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben