Batti Gul Meter Chalu review: “Whole movie was gul!!!”

It was one of the most exciting weekends in recent times courtesy of the high-profile matches which were on offer. This included Tiger Wood’s 80^th PGA tour title, Team India’s emphatic win over the Paks & Federer led Team Europe’s successful defense of the Laver Cup. There were a couple of movies as well that I got to check out apart from the games & one of them happened to be Shree Narayan’s “Batti Gul Meter Chalu”. Since his previous outing was Akki’s “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha”, I was particularly interested to watch it after all this also seemed to be rooted in reality.

SK (Shahid Kapoor), Nauti (Shraddha Kapoor) & Tripathi (Divyendu Sharma) were childhood friends who stuck to each other through thick & thin. Among the three, SK was a sly lawyer who was always on the lookout for some quick bucks which he acquired through the blackmail of potential law offenders. Nauti was a fashion designer while Tripathi who was the meekest among the three ventured into business & opened a small-scale printing company.  However, with constant power shortages in the region; it wasn’t easy to meet the demands of the customers & to make it worse, the electricity board also slapped him with outrageous bills for illogical reasons. Hoping to resolve the matter, he took it up with the ombudsman but to no avail. In the meantime, the friendship between the trio also crumbled due to the affair between Nauti & Tripathi which SK found it difficult to accept. Even though Tripathi turned towards SK for his legal support, the latter’s frosty behavior kinda made it evident that he wasn’t keen to help him out. So how was Tripathi going to get out of this mess before he loses his entire livelihood???

With a host of praise worthy movies to his credit, Shree Narayan has earned himself a respectable name as an editor & hopes to achieve the same as a director as well. This happens to be his third venture & just like “TEPK”, he has opted for a social issue like the lack of electricity & the cut-throat attitude of the electricity boards. He takes a considerable amount of time to set the stage & by the time, he does come to the core issue it doesn’t hit you as forcefully as one would expect. Apart from a couple of scattered chuckles, the court scenes don’t make us sit up & take notice, the blame for which also lies on Vipul Rawal’s rather average script which had the potential but fizzes out with barely a whimper. None of the technical aspects quite caught my eyes & hence doesn’t deserve a mention.

Despite the rather uninspiring making, I felt all the three main artists has done a reasonably good job with Shahid being the pick among the lot. He has given an earnest performance with his humour & energy while quite a few like Sudhir Pandey, Farida Jalal & Sushmita Mukherjee who are proven artists are wasted.

Verdict: With not much of a competition, the producers would have hoped that the movie will recreate the magic of “TEPK”. But with a rather uninspiring & bland script, it failed to impress the audience. In short, a rude shock to Shree who would have hoped that the people would back him after his previous praise worthy outing!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards…Ben

Saamy square review: "Offers nothing new except assault the senses!!!"

This weekend promises to be one of the most exciting for sports lovers like me as we have the Laver Cup, PGA Tour Championship & Asia Cup. With the first two events reaching it culmination on Sunday along with the Indo-Pak match, it promises to be one hell of a day. Since I didn't have much work to do on Saturday apart from the usual groceries, I decided to watch Vikram's "Saamy square"; the prequel of which I had absolutely loved. Can Hari recreate the magic of Aarusaamy???

Almost a year has passed since Perumal Pichai (Kota Srinivasa Rao) had been announced missing & his sons were adamant that they would unearth the truth behind their father's disappearance. Soon after, Raavana Pichai (Bobby Simha) & his brothers finds out that their father was killed by DCP Aarusaamy (Vikram). They avenge the death of their father by murdering Aarusamy & his wife, but Saamy's son miraculously survived the attack. For the next quarter of a century, Raavana & his brothers build their empire through money laundering activities for the political parties. In the meantime, Raamsaamy (Vikram) grows up into a fine IPS officer & as destiny would have it, Raam & Raavana crosses paths. 

When "Saamy" released in 2003, Hari was a relatively unknown name in the Tamil film industry after all this was his second project. But the success of "Saamy" followed by the "Singham" series made him a household name. So when "Saamy square" was announced there was both excitement as well as apprehension. The biggest challenge in front of Hari who had penned the script as well was to make it distinct from "Singham" & make it engaging as well. Unfortunately, he has failed miserably as the story offered nothing new with the first half being pathetic (the Anniyan type expression scenes, mailing the President & he takes action in a matter of mins...OMG)  & the comedy sequences being the WORST that I have come across in many years. Though the second half was comparatively better, it still didnt showcase anything that we havent seen in other flicks. None of the technical aspects deserves mention as it ranged from average to mediocre. 

Vikram was the only saving grace in the whole movie, but what can a talented actor like him do if the script itself is so weak. He could have done the smart thing & rejected it like Trisha, who foresaw that she was about to board a sinking ship. Since Trisha had backed out, Aishwarya takes up the guest role & did what she could. Bobby Simha was average as his character seemed to growl more rather than do some serious planning. As for the rest of the cast, Keerthy Suresh (expected her to be more judicious in picking roles after "Mahanadi") , Prabhu etc, were ok. 

Verdict: The film will take an excellent initial due to the effect of its prequel but I dont believe it will be able to sustain it as there isn't anything unique in the story. It's the same old police story that we have watched innumerable number of times. In short, watch "Saamy" if you haven't watched that or else forget it!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Manmarziyaan review: "Seemed like 2018 version of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam!!!"

Just a week back, I was profusely praising Anurag Kashyap for his brilliant performance in "Imaikka Nodigal" & the maestro was back this week in his director's apparel for "Manmarziyaan". From the trailer, it was kinda evident that it’s quite unlike what Anurag has worked with in the past & that in itself excited me further. Interestingly, the movie featured Abhishek Bachchan who is back after a two-year break (“to re-energise” as per what he said; hmm, so it wasn’t due to lack of movies???). Anywaz his success rate as a solo hero has been patchy, pretty much like Sri Lanka’s abysmal record since Sanga & Mahela retired. So, will his movie follow the fate of the Lankans in the Asia Cup???

Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) is an attractive, bold & free-spirited Punjabi kudi who was madly in love with the equally crazy & bindaas Vicky Sandhu (Vicky Kaushal). The latter was a DJ who aspired for a successful music career though he didn’t seem to work hard for it, while Rumi oversaw her family’s sports goods store. Their affair was known to everyone in the locality & her family after having caught them goofing around started searching alliances for her. However, Rumi’s adamancy forces them to offer some time to her, so that Vicky could seek his folks’ permission to ask her hand in marriage. But with Vicky being apprehensive of commitment, Rumi decided to tie the knot with Robbie Bhattia (Abhishek Bachchan), a UK based banker that her family had chosen for her.  The question was whether Rumi & Vicky could forget everything & get on with their new lives or will Robbie be handed out a raw deal???

Nowadays, we hardly come across directors who works in more than two projects in a single year & interestingly, “Manmarziyaan” happened to be Anurag’s third directorial venture this year after “Mukkabaaz” & “Lust Stories”. Unlike his previous movies, this hasn’t been scripted by him as it was by Kanika Dhillon who had earlier written the screenplay for “Ra One” & “Size Zero” (Telugu/Tamil). It might sound odd, but I felt like this was the 2018 version of “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” with carnal instincts being more prominent. Despite having a running time of 155 minutes, it still manages to keep us engaged for large portions especially in the first half. Apart from Anurag’s decent direction & Sylvester Fonseca’s visuals, there are two major reasons which makes this movie work & those are the cast as well as Amit Trivedi’s excellent music. The latter has undoubtedly produced the best soundtrack among all the movies that has released this year.

Ever since “Pink” released a couple of years back, Taapsee has consistently impressed with her choice of scripts & praise worthy performances. She was brilliant as the vivacious Rumi & should be in pole position to claim a couple of awards for the best actress. Equally impressive was Vicky Kaushal who floored me yet again after “Sanju” & has been consistently churning out good performances. Last but not the least, Abhishek has done a fine job as well with his ability to convey emotions convincingly through expressions. The rest of the cast have all also done their parts aptly.

Verdict: As per the latest box offices, the film made credible collections over the opening weekend making it the biggest in Anurag’s career (who usually barely make it beyond 10 C). I don’t think it will make much of an impact on the single screens & will have to depend on multiplexes for the revenue. However, it’s worth a watch & I would suggest that you guys should give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards…Ben

Paltan review: "Weakest among Dutta's war trilogy!!!"

Whenever we speak about war movies, there are quite a few that instantly comes to mind instantly such as "Saving Private Ryan", "Hurt Locker", "Dunkirk" etc., to name a few. In general, it would be fair to admit that Hollywood has always done an impressive job in crafting such war drama. Unfortunately, the same yard stick cant be applied to Indian movies as we haven't explored much in that genre & among the ones that were picturised, "Border" was definitely my favorite. So when it was announced that J.P Dutta was back with yet another war saga, "Paltan" I was eager to check it out.  The question was whether Dutta still had the goods to deliver another gritty movie???

As history says, our nation suffered a crushing defeat in the hands of China in the war of 1962. This included documented reports as to how the Chinese resorted to dishonorable war tactics to defeat the famed Rajput regiment. About five years has passed but the tension between the nations shimmered at the border which led to constant skirmishes between the armies. Lt Col Rai Singh  (Arjun Rampal) & his battalion was entrusted with the task of protection of Nathu La region from possible Chinese incursions. With the Chinese constantly needling his forces with the construction of bunkers & other structures into our land, Col Rai orders fencing to to be laid along the perceived border. As expected, this irks the Chinese & it eventually blown out into a full fledged war. So did our Army finally have their revenge for 1962???

J.P Dutta is an individual who needs no introduction with movies like "Border", "LOC:Kargil" to his credit. However, he has been keeping a low profile in recent times with his last release being the forgetful "Umrao Jaan", more than a decade back. Apart from direction, he has also taken on the responsibility of the script & screenplay; all of which were below par to be frank. He had a compelling tale to narrate but he wasn't able to do justice to it as the conflict between the nations portrayed here seemed more like kids fighting in school. The dialogues at most instances were short slogans & the people who mouthed them didn't even an iota of expression on them. Unlike his previous war dramas which had charismatic actors, over here we are left with a bunch of earnest individuals including experienced campaigners who struggles to capture our attention. The age old problem in Indian movies of portraying foreigners like British, Pakis etc as dimwits & with a single shade in their character is repeated yet again with the Chinese portrayed as an easily agitated school bully. On the technical side, Shailesh Awasthi & Nigam Bomzan has captured the locales pretty well while Anu Malik's music was average at best.

None of the known names like Jackie Shroff & Arjun Rampal were worthy of their roles as they seemed  disinterested & even a robot could have delivered the dialogues as well as them or maybe even better. Among the rest, Harshvardhan Rane as Major Harbhajan Singh has done a fine job along with Gurmeet Choudhary while Sonu Sood was ok. 

Verdict: Without mincing words, I would have to say that this movie doesn't have anything working in its favour & is destined to tank at the box office. Except for the emotional scenes that unfold towards the end, there is nothing else that would even remotely make us empathize with the movie. In short, forget it!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Imaikka Nodigal review: "Numerous sequences which makes us have imaikka nodigal!!!"

A couple of days back in my take on “Kolamaavu Kokila”, I had mentioned that Nayanthara has gone from strength to strength in recent times due to her choice of scripts which were both refreshing & entertaining. Incidentally, even before the impressive box office run of her previous venture had died down, we have yet another flick from her titled “Imaikka Nodigal” hitting the screens. As expected, the trailer promised it to be interesting & edge of the seat stuff. So, what does the Lady Superstar has to offer this time around???

Bangalore was gripped by the prowl of a serial killer (Anurag Kashyap) who wreaked havoc in the city with the merciless murder of his kidnapped victims even after he was handed  the ransom. With the police proving to be rather ineffective, the CBI team headed by Anjali Vikramadithyan (Nayanthara) was brought in to nab the killer. Interestingly, the modus operandi of the killer was similar to Rudra, another dreaded serial killer who was killed by Anjali five years back. Despite the psychotic proclaiming that he was indeed Rudra, Anjali dismissed the claim as a hoax but her team still wasn’t able to stop him. It was at this juncture that things got personal as Rudra had Anjali’s brother Arjun (Atharvaa) framed as the culprit in the serial murders. What will it take for Anjali to rescue her brother???

This is the second directorial venture of Ajay Gnanamuthu, who had made his debut in 2015 with “Demonte Colony” which was said to be well received though I haven’t watched it. Apart from calling the shots, he has also penned the script & screenplay and I would have to admit that he has done an impressive job in all three departments. He doesn’t resort to spoon feeding the audience as we are thrust right into the heat of the events. Then over the course of the investigation, we are told about the back story & how it evolved through to the present day. But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing as I felt the romantic track between Atharvaa & Raashi, just didn’t have the substance to engage us & in turn, increased the running time even further. Along with Ajay, there are two other individuals who also deserves special mention. These include Rajasekhar for his well angled shots & Hiphop Tamizha for the catchy tracks & BGM which were in sync with the mood of the movie.

Nayanthara rocked with yet another impressive performance as she was at ease in the thriller avatar. But one person who actually stole the show was Anurag Kashyap as the psychotic serial killer. He was just brilliant & I dont think anyone else could have portrayed it better. Hopefully he will be smart enough not to be typecasted & wont hesitate to take up more roles despite his directorial career. Along with Nayan & Anurag, Atharvaa  had an equally important role but he was average at best along with Raashi & Devan. Vijay Sethupathi impresses with his cameo which was a pivotal part of the story.

Verdict: Just like Kokila, her latest flick has also garnered good numbers at the box office emphasizing the fact for the umpteenth time there is no female star who could shoulder a venture like the way she does. Ajay has ensured that the action thriller has all the ingredients that would appeal to the audience in apt measure. In short, check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Stree review: "Unique horror comedy that keeps you hooked!!!"

Before I pen the review, I have to confess that I am not particularly a huge fan of the horror genre. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I don't watch it at all, as I have seen quite a few excellent ones such as "Omen", "Exorcist" etc. in the past. Even in our film industry, despite numerous mediocre (unintentionally hilarious) flicks there are quite a few which were pretty damn good such as "Raat" , "13B", "Bhoot" etc. When I saw the trailer of "Stree", I was interested to check it out as the star cast included the talented Rajkummar Rao & it belonged to the horror comedy category. So was it able to justice to its genre or is it pathetic that like most of the rest???

The film unfolds in the village of Chanderi in MP which is believed to be haunted by a female ghost who abducts men during their annual festival & leaves behind their clothes. So this continued for many years & none of the people were able to stop the ghost. The latest victim was Jaana (Abhishek Bhattacharya) whose close buddies were Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) & Bittu (Aparshakti Khurrana). Incidentally around the same time, Vicky had befriended a female (Shraddha Kapoor) who had approached him for certain unusual supplies. This naturally arouses the suspicion of Vicky & Bittu as to whether she was indeed the ghost as she wasn't seen by anyone else apart from the former. But how were they going to confirm it & if true, can she be stopped?

This is the debut venture of Amar Kaushik, though he has assisted in a couple of projects one of which was "Go Goa Gone"; the first zombie comedy in the country. It was helmed by Raj Nidimoru & Krishna D K, who happens to have prepared the script & screenplay for the present venture. The uniqueness of this flick was that it was both hilarious & scary at the same time, with the men being the ones scared to walk in the dark unlike the normal status quo where women were the petrified group. Kudos to the script writers & Amar for being able to keep the audience engaged & they were also amply assisted by the hilarious dialogues by Sumit Arora. There is no doubt that it is a tad long & could have easily benefited if the meaningless songs were edited out. As for other technical aspects, it was executed well.

Rajkummar Rao is undoubtedly one of the finest actors in the country, who excels irrespective of whatever role is give to him. He has done just that as the talented tailor Vicky who goes bonkers for the beautiful lass but musters up courage when he is face to face with the ghost.It's not so often that we get to see Shraddha Kapoor in a meaningful part & she has done utmost justice to her role. Another person who gives tough competition for Rajkummar is Pankaj Tripathi, who had the audience in splits as the scholar Rudra who had answer to everything related to the ghost. Equally impressive were Abhishek & Aparshakti and the rest of the cast who deserves a pat on their backs.

Verdict: As expected, the public loved the movie & it has reflected in the box office collections, with the gross amount predicted to breach even the 100 C mark. It's surely a horror flick that will have you entertained with its conversational humour. In short, you will enjoy it!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Kolamaavu Kokila review: "Nayanthara is kolamass!!!"

Whenever we talk about superstars, each industry will come up with their list of actors who they believe deserves the tag. However, whenever think of an actress who could be bestowed with that title; we invariably think of Nayathara in most cases. Her latest movie "Kolamavu Kokila" has been the talk of the town ever since the trailer was released & the hype surrounding the movie skyrocketed when the track 'Kalyana Vayasu' became a bombastic chartbuster courtesy of the unique combination of Nayan & Yogi Babu. So does the Lady Superstar have yet another blockbuster in her kitty???

Kokila (Nayanthara) is a timid & demure female who is the primary bread earner of her family. However, in the initial sequences itself she proves that looks can be deceiving & gives us a taste of her bold nature when she quits her job after giving a stinging reply to her supervisor who offered her a higher pay if she 'met him outside office'. Even though she manages to get another job at a massage parlour, much to the chagrin of her father; it proves to be inadequate as her mother was diagnosed with cancer & the treatment costs were beyond her meager salary. At this juncture, she gets mixed up with the drug mafia & ends up becoming their peddler, who promises her a fat paycheck in exchange for her services. Aware of being knocked out by the drug mafia or picked up the police, she plays her cards smartly & ensured that she was ahead of both the groups. But for how long & will she ever be able to emerge out of the scum unscathed???

Though this is the debut venture of Nelson Dilipkumar (after his earlier project "Vettai Mannan" with STR was shelved), he is a relatively well-known name in the entertainment industry. He has helmed reality shows & award nights in the past apart from being part of Jodi No.1 and Bigg Boss. The main thing that I loved about the movie was how seamlessly Nelson's script weaves comedy into even the serious scenes like murder, torture etc & he has executed it equally well. In addition, the unique characters who were realistic yet with a quirky sense of humour & the choice of artists who were selected for it, made it an enjoyable experience. There is no doubt that the second half does have its pitfalls but that doesn't hinder the overall positive impact. Another major positive was Anirudh's excellent music & BGM along with Sivakumar's catchy frames. 

When Nayanthara had burst into the scene, she was nothing more than a pretty face but with years of experience, hard work & excellent choice of movies; she has risen to the top of the heap. Nowadays we have movies written for her & she keeps acing her part just like how she has done over here. Equally brilliant was Yogi Babu who brings the roof down with his antics & dialogue delivery. Hopefully he gets similar meaty roles in the future as well. Saranya who invariably gets typecasted, gets a role which allows her to express something different & she has done full justice to it. Even the rest of the cast have done their parts well such as Yogi's assistant, Rajendran, Shobi etc.

Verdict: The movie which could be slotted as a dark comedy has already become a huge hit at the box office with everyone raving about it. So does it surprise me?? Absolutely not, coz I really loved it & pretty confident that you guys will be in splits for many of the sequences. In short, don't miss it!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Satyameva Jayate review: "Truth is even a migraine will feel better!!!"

As mentioned in my previous review on "Gold", the second Bollywood movie that I had watched over the same period was "Satyameva Jayate". Well to be frank, I didn't have much of a good feeling prior to watching it as the trailer didn't seem to offer anything new. But I still decided to check it out, hoping that it would be one of those rare John Abraham movies that was worth a try. Alas, I was grossly mistaken.

Mumbai, the financial capital of our nation was home to over 2 lakh police officers; though a significant number among them had corruption charges slapped against them. With the judicial system proving to be ineffective against such individuals, Vir (John Abraham) a vigilante takes it upon himself to eliminate the tainted officers. As expected, this sends a chill down the spine of the force & they become the laughing stock of the media & the public, since the protectors themselves were incapable of protecting their own flock. Left with no choice, the Commissioner entrusts the case to his trusted lieutenant & the most efficient officer in the force; DCP Shivansh (Manoj Bajpayee). But irrespective of whatever moves Shivansh made, Vir was always a step ahead of him & the murders continued unabated. So how did Vir manage to do that despite the well laid plans of the former???

Milan Milap Zaveri is a name that not many would be aware of & it's not surprising after all he had directed just two forgetful movies prior to this (not worth mentioning). However, he has scripted numerous movies & quite a few of them are well known such as "Housefull","Heyy Babyy", "Kaante" etc. With regard to his latest flick, it's downright pathetic as it felt like a movie which should have released a couple of decades back. There was nothing that could be attributed as fresh in the plot & it seemed like he made it combining quite a few yesteryear movies that he would have watched on DVD or Doordarshan. None of the technical aspects deserves mention, except for maybe the action sequences.

How often have we seen John beat men into pulp & rip out whatever he can get his hands on. Well it's the same thing all over again while Manoj Bajpayee was wasted in a role which didnt require a person of his caliber. As for the rest of the cast, they were average at best while the female lead essayed by Aisha Sharma was rather mediocre.

Verdict: Surprisingly, as per box office reports it has collected close to 90 C which has got me stunned to be frank. It might have been the holidays or the lack of other credible releases, but whatever might be the case; the producers wont complain. As far as my opinion goes, it's hardly worth wasting your time & can make you either sleep off or have a migraine!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben

Gold review: 'Could have glittered as much as the actual gold!!!"

About a month is about to pass since we celebrated the Independence Day & as always a couple of flicks which harped about patriotism made it's way to the theatres. However, since our state went through the worst floods in more than a century, I neither had the time nor felt it was appropriate to pen down as to what I thought about "Gold" & "Satyameva Jayate". The former had Akshay in the lead & it was a fictional take with a dose of reality about India's first Olympic gold in hockey after becoming independent. I have to admit that I have a soft corner for sports dramas, but was it so good so to have become a huge hit???

The year was 1936 & the two time defending Olympic champions British India was up against the Germans in the grand finale with Hitler in attendance. Though the team seemed flustered in the first half, the Indian team bolstered by Samrat's magic (Kunal Kapoor) & manager Tapan Das's inspirational pep talk (Akshay Kumar) turned the tables on their opponents & won the contest with ease. Incidentally, that was the last time the team played under the British India flag as the the next three Olympics were cancelled due to WWII. With the 1948 Olympics confirmed & the news of Indian independence turning out to be a reality, Tapan Das approaches the Hockey Federation to allow him to assemble a team for the tournament. Despite resistance from certain quarters due to his drinking problem & monetary mismanagement, he is given the permission to do the needful. Though he manages to put together a stellar team, little did he realise that partition will fragment the team in ways unimaginable.

Reema Kagti is a relatively well known director with movies like "Honeymoon Travels Ltd" & "Talaash" to her credit, in addition to having scripted a few others as well. Her latest venture is a concoction of fact & fiction & is scripted by her in the company of Rajesh Devraj. Whenever we talk about hockey, the first name that comes to mind is Dhyan Chand & this character is portrayed as Kunal's Samrat while Tapan Das's role has shades of similarity with manager Pankaj Gupta. Some of the sequences depicted in the movie such as playing bare foot in wet conditions etc., are all inspired from real life events. The first half works better unlike the latter half which seemed pretty dramatic & over the top at times. With regard to the technical aspects, the art direction deserves praise, Anand Subayya's editing ought to have been tighter while Sachin-Jigar's music was fine though the placement of a few of them didnt make sense.

Akshay has done a decent job as the manager though as a Bengali he wasnt quite upto the mark. Interestingly, quite a few others were brilliant in their roles such as Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Nikita Dutta & Sunny Kaushal. Even Amit Sadh was fine though a tad artificial at times while Mouni Roy was average. 

Verdict: As a sports drama, it doesnt quite match upto the benchmark set by "Chak De", but still provides an engaging viewing experience. It has notched impressive numbers at the box office though it had potential to have been much better. In short, check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben