Vishwaroopam 2 review: "Hard to believe Kamal made this incoherent & insipid circumquel!!!"

If one is asked to name some of the finest actors that our nation has produced, then one actor who will invariably feature in everyone's list will be Kamal Hassan. His body of work over the past 50 years is nothing short of extraordinary, due to which we invariably wait with bated breath whenever his movie hit the screens. With the legend having plunged into active politics with the launch of his political party 'Makkal Needhi Maiam', he has announced that he is retiring from movies. If he does keep his word, then there are just 3 of his movies left of which "Vishwaroopam 2" has hit the screens this weekend. The prequel was top notch & so naturally, the expectations are nigh high. So will it be yet another Kamal classic???

Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri (Kamal Hassan) & his team is on the way to London to hand over the body of their deceased colleague to the family. However, their stay over there turned out to be eventful as an assassination plot had been hatched for Wisam & Col Jagannath (Shekhar Kapur)  by Iyer (Anant Mahadevan), an Indian bureaucrat turned rogue. Both of them managed to escape unscathed with the Colonel eliminating Iyer while Wisam finds out that all of this was masterminded by his old foe, Omar Qureshi (Rahul Bose). To make matters worse, Omar was planning a terrorist attack on London by making use of bombs that had sank off England's coast during WWII, which incidentally still happened to be active. It was now upto Wisam to defuse the situation but it wasnt going to be easy as he was up against a wounded enemy who was well versed with all his tactics.

Close to half a decade has passed since the release of "Vishwaroopam" which was without doubt a stylish espionage thriller that I felt was on par with Hollywood movies. Incidentally, a significant portion of the second part was shot along with the prequel itself but unforeseen issues such as financial crisis etc delayed the release. It is essentially a one man show as Kamal has taken care of all the major responsibilities & that could essentially might have been the reason why his script was just so uninspiring.  The first half of the movie was spent predominantly on flashbacks & explanations as to what actually happened in the prequel which doesn't do anything apart from making the audience bored & confused. The actual terrorist plan seemed interesting but the manner in which it was executed was rather lame. Even the VFX, editing by Mahesh Narayan & the art direction which was fantastic in the prequel was pretty pathetic. However, it does have a couple of highlights such as Kamal's dialogues that touched upon various topics such as religion, geopolitics etc., Ghibran's music & the cinematography by Sanu Varghese and Shamdat Sainudeen.

As expected, Kamal was brilliant as the protagonist especially when he delivers the lines, though his action sequences weren't exactly great . Pooja Kumar was definitely far better in this while Andrea Jeremiah was fine in her part. Shekhar Kapur & Anant Mahadevan were ok while Rahul Bose was wasted. 

Verdict: There is no doubt that the movie will have a fantastic initial owing to the praise worthy prequel & lack of competition at the box office. But for a person of Kamal's caliber, this movie is definitely a disappointment as the story lacked clarity & the flash backs that take up significant screen time didn't impart anything worthwhile to the overall impact. In short, it wont hurt to give it a miss!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Fanney Khan review: "Anil Kapoor rocks even as the film felt rather doltish in the latter half!!!"

With the boom of television channels at the turn of the new millennium, the audiences are bombarded with a plethora of programmes. Apart from the never ending soap operas that are lapped up by the masses, another prominent programme that has captured the imagination of the public are the reality shows. The fact of the matter is more often than not, there is no "reality" in such shows as it is smartly staged with an eye on the TRPs. There is no doubt that such shows has given platforms for numerous talented individuals to kick start their career but becoming a star isnt a cake walk. Incidentally Atul Manjrekar's debut venture "Fanney Khan" touches upon this subject in a humorous manner. The trailer was thoroughly entertaining but was the movie as good???

Prasanth Sharma/Fanney Khan (Anil Kapoor) was the lead vocalist in an orchestra in his younger days & aspired to become a singer like Rafi. However, he couldn't make his dream into reality & hoped that he could make his daughter, Lata (Pihu Sand) succeed where he faltered. She was definitely talented though her confidence to perform was invariably dented as she was regularly humiliated for being on the chubbier side. Since he struggled to make ends meet, he knew that his ambition to make a music album for his daughter was rather fetched. It is at this juncture that he decides to kidnap Baby Singh (Aishwarya Rai), the most sought after singing sensation in exchange for ransom with the help of his friend, Adhir (Rajkummar Rao). So will Lata become the star that her father dreamt of & if so, at what cost???

Based on the Belgian movie "Everybody's Famous" by Dominique Deruddere (which I haven't watched), the Bollywood version has been helmed by the debutant, Atul Manjrekar. He has also written the screenplay along with Hussain Dalal & Abbas Dalal, which though hilarious at times cant be denied to be rather silly & a climax that could sent the wrong signals. At the same time, he does pose some serious questions with regard to whether talent has to take back seat to glamour & compromise. There is no doubt that Atul could have made it more entertaining & meaningful, if he had made a couple of changes & surely missed a trick or two. Some of them being more screen time for the hilarious interactions between Anil, Ash & Rao, more focus on Pihu's relation with Anil etc. With regard to the technical aspects, pretty much everything was fine though Amit Trivedi's music stood out especially the "Tere Jaisa Tu Hai" track rendered by Monali Thakur. 

Anil Kapoor was excellent as the father who would go to any length to ensure that his daughter has a successful career. Pihu Sand has done a fine job along with Rajkummar, though the latter wasn't quite utilized. Similarly Aishwarya was an apt choice as the pop star but her pairing with Rajkummar seemed rather odd. As for the rest of the cast, they have done their parts aptly. 

Verdict: It had the makings of a hilarious entertainer but failed to realize its full potential due to Atul's inexperience & an average screenplay, which didn't know what ought to be highlighted & what not. It wont make much of a noise at the box office & might just be able to break even at best. So does it mean that it's a waste of time??? Hmm..that will be kinda harsh as I felt it's a decent time pass with hilarious sequences despite the outlandish plot & questionable climax !!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Mulk review: "Realistic take on religious prejudices!!!"

Whether we like it or not, we live in a nation which has a significant number of people who gets easily swayed whenever the topic of "religion' comes up. As expected, many politicians use this strategy to their benefit by taking advantage of such gullible individuals. Even though we have developed as a nation in various aspects such as science, technology, education etc., we have failed to keep religious prejudices at bay. The fact is if such prejudices are left unchecked, it is powerful enough to unleash disharmony in the nation & we are already witness to such incidents rather frequently. This is exactly what is discussed in Anubhav Sinha's "Mulk", but is it too preachy & filmy or a replica of the ground reality???

Advocate Murad Ali (Rishi Kapoor) lived with his family in their ancestral home in Banaras & shared a warm relationship with everyone in the neighbourhood Things moved along smoothly until his nephew Shahid (Prateik Babbar) gets involved in a bomb blast that claims numerous lives. It turned out that he was influenced into becoming an extremist & was eventually shot dead in an encounter. The investigation team led by SSP Danish Javed (Rajat Kapoor) refused to believe that Shahid's family had no clue about his terrorist involvement. To make matters worse, circumstantial evidence seemed to indicate that Shahid's father Bilal (Manoj Pahwa) facilitated in the execution of his son's plan. This creates unrest in the locality with Murad Ali & his family isolated & insulted by even their friends & neighbours. However, that didn't deter Murad & his daughter in law, Arti (Taapsee Pannu) to seek justice & regain honour for their family who were innocent of Shahid's misendeavours.

Anubhav Sinha came into the industry with a bang with an unexpected hit in the form of "Tum Bin", but couldnt quite recreate that form ever since. He had also helmed "Ra One" which was slammed by  many, though I kinda liked the concept. However, I have no doubt that his latest release would be well received as it is his best work to date. Apart from calling the shots, he has also penned the script & it is evident that he has done his homework with regard to the prejudices that the Muslim community faces for some rotten apples in their midst. The movie doesn't grow on us in the first hour, but the moment the courtroom drama starts, you can rest assured to be completely engrossed. As for other technical aspects, the manner in which the court scenes were impressively picturised by Ewan Mulligan & the presence of Taapsee reminded me of "Pink".

Rishi Kapoor has been lucky to get some meaty roles in the last couple of years & this one is no different as he has aced his part with elan. Giving him apt competition was Taapsee who in recent times have started to carve a niche for herself with some exceptional performances & this role will feature as one of the finest in her career. Similarly, Ashutosh Rana, Rajat Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa & Kumud Mishra have all excelled in their parts which has gone a long way in elevating the viewing experience.

Verdict: It can definitely not be tagged as an entertainer but rather as a mirror for the society that seems to get narrow minded due to religious prejudices. It's a movie that needs to be watched as it is  rooted in reality & even as a celluloid creation, you will love the last 30 minutes. In short, don't miss it!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 review: "Weakest among the trilogy!!!"

Seems like the last weekend was reserved specifically for franchise movies. If Hollywood had "MI6" gracing the screens, then Bollywood had "Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3". Both the prequels of "SBG" had garnered substantial critical acclaim & Tigmanshu Dhulia would be hoping that he could maintain the trend in the latest installment as well. With the addition of Sanjay Dutt into the mix to essay the part of the gangster, Dhulia cant be blamed if he believed that it would translate into more footfalls in the theatre. So did his plan work out as expected???

Saheb/Aditya Pratap (Jimmy Shergill) was still in jail & was trying to buy his way out into the open world. On the other hand, his biwi/Madhavi Devi (Mahi Gill) had become MP & was doing everything within her power to keep him behind bars. But Aditya managed to get out of jail with the help of his aid Kanhaiya (Deepraj Rana) & his daughter, Deepal (Pamela Bhutoria), much to the chagrin of Madhavi. It was at this juncture that she came into acquaintance with Uday Pratap Singh (Sanjay Dutt), who also belonged to royal lineage though he had a strained relationship with his father & brother. With Aditya seeking to acquire power, Madhavi proposes a deal to Uday whereby he will kill Saheb in exchange for her help to acquire the land that he had set his eyes upon for his heritage hotel. So will Uday accept the deal especially since the biwi is known for double crossing???

Just as in the previous editions, the basic premise was pretty much the same with the Saheb & Biwi at loggerheads with each other. It is a concoction of revenge, infidelity, back stabbing and ambition to rise at any cost. But what had made the previous installments stand out was that the whole tale was cohesive & intriguing which is sadly not the case in the latest version. The script by Sanjay Chauhan along with Dhulia, was just not compelling enough & to make matters worse, the gangster portion didn't make any sense. Amalendu's visuals were decent enough while none of the other technical aspects deserved special mention.

Both Jimmy Shergill & Mahi Gill has done a fine job in their respective roles while Sanjay Dutt, who was brought in with much fanfare seemed totally disinterested & didn't gel in the movie. As for the rest of the cast, Kabir Bedi hams, Deepak Tijori proves he is still alive, Nafisa Ali & Soha Ali Khan included for reasons only the director could answer, Chitrangada Singh wasted while Zakir Hussain does what was expected of him.

Verdict: There is no doubt that this is the weakest movie among the three parts & the manner in which it has ended, seems to indicate that a fourth part might be in the cards. However, unless Dhulia regains his touch which he seems to have lost since "Bullet Raja"; he shouldn't even attempt the next installment. The ploy to release the movie after "Sanju" in order to reap the benefits of the good will generated due to the sanitized biopic has completely backfired as Sanjay's part was poorly etched & performed. In short, don't bother!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben