Good Newwz review: "Good news for the makers!!!"

Less than 8 hours left for 2019 to come to an end & it could not have concluded in a better manner as the last movie of the year is galloping its way to a super-hit status or maybe even more. The honour has been bestowed on Raj Mehta's "Good Newwz" which has got the audience in splits & the makers laughing to the bank. Laughter is the best medicine & let's hope that the New Year brings in its share of good fortune to each one of us. Since Akki was part of the cast, I didnt have think twice to check out the movie as the trailer promised it to be a laugh riot. So was it just senseless comedy or had the semblance of a credible thread???

Varun (Akshay Kumar) & Dipti (Kareena Kapoor Khan) were a modern and successful couple who had been trying to conceive a baby for quite sometime. Eventually on the behest of Varun's family, they approach a renowned IVF centre where they decide to undergo the procedure. However, things didnt quite pan out as expected as the specimens gets mixed up with another couple who shared the same surname. That happened to be a young vibrant Punjabi couple, Honey (Diljit Dosanjh) & Monika (Kiara Advani) who were as different as chalk & cheek with the other Batras. So how will these couples tackle this botched up procedure???

This is Raj Mehta's debut venture & he has definitely chosen an interesting topic that had ample scope for comedy yet a serious issue as well. However, in the company of Jyoti Kapoor & Rishabh Sharma he decided to narrate a story that dealt with the subject matter in a hilarious manner without getting too melodramatic. If the movie deals with comedy & Akshay is part of the cast, then we can rest assured that he will make sure that we will be in splits with his goofiness. I certainly enjoyed what Raj had tried to convey though the portion where Akshay is on a high after having smoked weed seemed inappropriate rather than  comical. As for the climax, it was fine & the best possible manner it could have concluded. There were a host of music directors of which majority of the tracks were done by Tanishk Bagchi whihc were fine while Vishnu Rao's  visuals were vibrant and in sync with the mood.

As has been the trend, Akshay has been dabbling between patriotic and comedy stuff for quite some time & this time around it was the turn of the latter genre. Expectedly, he rocked his part & was aptly supported by Kareena Kapoor who was the perfect fit for the part of the modern working female. Even Diljit & Kiara did their parts aptly, though the former did go overboard a couple of times. As for the rest of cast, Adil Hussain was hilarious in a rather unfamiliar role while Tisca Chopra did her part appropriately.

Verdict: The movie has been well received by the audience which is evident from the number that it had piled up since it had released. It wraps up another successful year for Akki who has ruled the box office with hits like "Mission Mangal", "Housefull 4" & "Kesari", In short, do check it out & you can be assured to have your own share of good laughs to ring in the new year!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

My Santa review: "This Santa will bring smiles to children!!!"

What is the most fascinating thing about Christmas? Well for me, it's about spending quality time with the family, gorging on the lip smacking dishes that Mom prepares & watching the Xmas releases. However, for children it's mainly about getting gifts from Santa Claus, the tradition which gained traction in the latter half of the 19th century coz of Clement Moore's poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'. Hollywood always comes out with Christmas themed feel good movies around this time which is not so prevalent in our part of the world. Hence it was a pleasant surprise to see a Malayalam movie like "My Santa" hit the screens on  Christmas. So will it evoke laughter in the children???

Isa (Baby Manasvi) is an adorable & bubbly little girl who stayed with her grandfather, Kuttusan (Sai Kumar) as she lost her family to an accident. Her favorite time of the year was Christmas as she believed that Santa Claus would make all her wishes come true. Her greatest wish was of course to meet her parents in heaven & that her best friend, Anna (Baby Devanandha) recovered from her life threatening illness. In response to the letter she posted to God, she received a gift which reaffirmed her faith that Santa would indeed visit her on Christmas. But was it actually real or a figment of her imagination???

Sugeeth had a memorable directorial debut with "Ordinary" which propelled Gavi as a much sought after tourist spot. However, his subsequent projects after the much enjoyable debut movie failed to attract as much attention among the audience. His latest creation will undoubtedly earn the badge of approval from children as it has clean humour along with celebration of love and friendship. Jemin Cyriac had penned the script making sure that he didnt include any grey characters & that it appealed to everyone. Sugeeth was successful in creating a much needed magical feel to the movie with the right choice of location & Vidyasagar's music added to the effect. Faizal Ali's visuals were good while Sajan could have done a much better job of editing the latter half which lags quite a bit. 

Though it is marketed as a Dileep movie, it well & truly belonged to Baby Manasvi who did utmost justice to her role. Ever since the assault case had been charged against him, Dileep has been keeping a low profile & making sure that he made the right choices when it came to choosing the scripts. Here as well, he is more like a supporting actor & ensured that he gave ample support to Manasvi. There are quite an array of well known artists apart from cameos & all of them have done their parts well.

Verdict: As I mentioned earlier, it's a feel good movie that will appeal to all the children. Even adults will enjoy it as it's a clean movie without any double meaning jokes or grey characters. The second half could have been trimmed & made it more engaging. Anywaz surely take your children for this one or even otherwise as well, it wont hurt to give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Driving License review: "Perfect recipe for the holiday season!!!"

After having watched "Prathi Poovankozhi", my eyes fell on the next Malayalam Christmas release which happened to be Lal Jr's "Driving License" that had Prithvi & Suraj in the lead. Though it's almost two decades since I have got my license, I have to admit that I had used it more as an ID rather than it's power that allows me to drive a vehicle. This doesn't imply that I dont enjoy driving (except in most of the guttered roads in our state), after all the relaxation that one gets from a long drive is second to none. The trailer had me interested as it spoke about the relationship between a star & his fan, which is not unknown territory as far as celluloid creations are concerned. But does Lal Jr's movie have the content to keep us engaged???

Hareendran (Prithviraj) is the darling of the masses & one of the biggest names in the Malayalam film industry. The shooting of his latest movie on the land that belonged to the security forces required him to submit his driving license for verification. This is when it dawned on him that it has been misplaced & the only viable option is to obtain a duplicate at the earliest. He sought the help of his politician friend, Johny Peringodan (Saiju Kurup) who in turn approaches the RTO Inspector Kuruvila (Suraj Venjaramood) who incidentally happened to be Hari's die hard fan. Though he was an officer who didn't bend rules, he decides to make a concession for his idol in exchange for an opportunity to meet the latter personally in his office. However, things goes awry as media gets sniff of Hari's visit to the RTO which eventually leads to bad blood being brewed between the star & his fan.

Lal Jr's ticket to fame until now was the "Honey Bee" series (excluding 2.5) & from the looks of it he would be able to add "Driving License" also to that list. One of the significant reason for that is Sachy's script that has pretty much all the elements that we would expect from an entertainer in adequate proportions. It would appeal to all age groups which is a plus especially during the holiday season. The basic premise as I mentioned earlier is the equation between the star & his fan, which is something that has been explored in Hollywood & Indian movies in the past as well such as "King of Comedy", "The Fan" or "Fan" (Hindi). All of these movies have the lead characters in definite white & dark shades, but this is where Lal Jr's creation stands out as both have shades of grey without hinging too much towards inflicting bodily harm on the other. Sushin Shyam's music, Alex Pulickal & Ranadive's visuals along with Ratheesh Raj's editing was fine 

Both Prithvi & Suraj were equally impressive in their roles be it as the star who has a personal life of his own or the fan who is willing to cut corners for his idol but not at the cost of his self respect. Interestingly even the supporting cast were given ample screen space be it Nandu, Suresh Krishna , Miya (variant of Meena's role in "Katha Parayumbol") or Saiju Kurup, the last three brings the roof down with their antics. 

Verdict: Surely a movie that will cater to everyone's tastes & has a decent tale to narrate that will engage the audience. In short, do watch it!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Prathi Poovankozhi review: "Relevant issue narrated aptly!!!"

Christmas is here & as one would expect there are a host of movies that has hit the screens hoping to capture the attention of the audience. I was back home in Kollam for a couple of days & didnt have to think twice to rush off to the nearest pilgrimage site for a movie buff which is obviously the theatre. There were quite a few that I wanted to watch of which Rosshan Andrrews's "Prathi Poovankozhi" caught my attention primarily due to the uniqueness in its title. As a film maker, Rosshan rarely disappoints & I hoped that the trend continues. 

Madhuri (Manju Warrier) is a sales girl & the sole bread earner of her family which consisted of only her widowed mother. As her father owed a significant amount to the bank, she was constantly under pressure from the concerned authorities to clear off the debts lest they impounded her property. To further compound her troubles, she gets molested in the bus by a rather infamous rowdy & before she could vent out her anger, he managed to slip into the crowd. Despite being discouraged by her well wishers & terrified of what such a rowdy could do to her if she confronted him, she was still adamant that she would teach him a lesson. This essentially forms the crux of this movie which has a running time of just about 100 minutes.

Rosshan's credentials as a director needs no introduction as I have invariably been impressed with all his celluloid creations except for "Cassanova". This time around he has taken the short story 'Sankadam' penned by Unni R & has weaved an extremely relevant topic that haunts the society. Just like Rosshan, Unni has a respectable name in the industry coz of scripts like "Chaappa Kurishu", "Munnariyippu" etc. The manner in which the society responds to women being molested is shown realistically & it paints a sad yet sorry picture that many women have resigned to the fact that nothing will ever get down to prevent such occurrences. To make matters worse, they also stand the risk of getting their names tainted for no obvious fault of theirs thanks to media & the narrow minded group in the population. The casting was spot on for both the main characters but I cant say the same about Anusree as the flirtatious character written for her didnt quite suit her, the lady who played Manju's mother had no chemistry with her & Divya Prabha. 

On the technical side, Gopi Sundar's BGM was in sync with the mood of the movie. If at all, there was something negative I certainly felt that this wasn't worth a full fledged movie but rather a short film. Manju Warrier was fantastic as the fiery protagonist while Rosshan will definitely surprise the audience with his looks & body language which was spot on for the character. Anusree & Alensier shared a good chemistry with Manju, Saiju Kurup was fine with his shades of grey while Divya Prabha seemed artificial.

Verdict: Since the production values are on the lower side, the producers should be able to recover the costs. There is no doubt that Rosshan has portrayed an extremely relevant topic but I felt it had the content only for a short film. It might not get as many takers as one would expect in a festive season but I would certainly suggest everyone to check it out.

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Panipat review: "Solid story let down by shoddy execution & flat footed cast!!!"

Our nation has been witness to numerous wars over the centuries & it's not different even now as well with political parties in their greed to satisfy their agendas have created animosity between people over religion and economic disparity. If one is to dig into history, we will be surprised to know that the tactics employed by the shrewd administrators of yester years is still very much prevalent & one such event happens to be the Panipat battles. Last week, Ashutosh Gowariker released his latest creation "Panipat" &  I was more than keen to check it out being an aficionado of history. So was he able to do justice to the historic event???

The Maratha supremacy was virtually completed after they had defeated the Nizams in 1760. Expectedly, Nana Saheb Peshwa (Mohnish Bahl) was proud of his commanders especially Sadashiv Rao Bhau (Arjun Kapoor) who steadily rose up the ranks for his valour & bravery. However, his immense popularity created unrest among a few & one of them happened to be Nana Saheb's wife Gopika Bai (Padmini Kolhapure). On her behest, Sadashiv was asked to step down from his military duties & take up the financial responsibilities of the state. It soon became evident to him that despite the Maratha kingdom being huge, their revenues were far less primarily because many kingdoms in the North including the Mughals refused to pay their dues. When Sadashiv decided to enforce stricter measures, Nijab Ud Daula (Mantra) of the Mughal court sought the help of Ahmad Shah Abdali (Sanjay Dutt), the Afghan ruler of Kandahar. Left with no options, the Marathas marched towards Delhi in the hope of stopping Abdali & the two armies clashed in what was known as the Third Battle of Panipat.

More than a decade has passed since the impressive "Jodha Akbar" had released, after which Ashutosh struggled to capture the attention of the audience with three duds on the trot. With "Panipat", he seemed to recapture some of his form as the script written in collaboration with Chandrashekhar Dhavalikar, Ranjeet Bahadur & Aditya Rawal definitely indicated that they had researched extensively. However, Ashutosh failed to execute it convincingly onto the screen as the VFX were rather shoddy & even the choices of artists also seemed questionable. The visuals were fine though it wasnt quite upto the caliber of C K Muraleedharan while Steven Bernard could have easily chopped the length of the movie.

There is no doubt that Arjun Kapoor & Sanjay Dutt fitted the role in appearance as well as performance, however when it came to the action sequences they just werent light footed or agile as the character demanded.  Kriti Sanon was impressive & slowly but steadily cementing her place as one of the actresses to look out for in the coming years. As for the rest of the cast, they were so many that it's hard to remember all of them but most of them did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Ashutosh's woes at the box office continues & for obvious reasons since he failed to do justice to the well researched script. To add to his troubles, even his choice of artists werent quite the smartest either & one could only hope that he comes up with a better movie the next time around!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Jallikattu review: "Primal instincts take centre stage!!!"

About a year back at the grand finale of Bigg Boss, Lijo Jose Pellissery announced that Sabumon who had won the event will be offered a prominent role in a movie that featured the fight between man and animal. In due time, that movie was titled "Jallikattu" & as all of you would be aware it created waves when it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Most of the critics have gone gaga for it & even the audience seems to have warmed up to the movie. Hmm...but was it as good as it is made to appear or is it just the domino effect???

There isn't an elaborate tale to narrate as it's about a bull that had managed to escape from the clutches of the local butcher Kaalan Varkey (Chemban Vinod) & his helper Antony (Antony Varghese). The bull wreaks havoc in the village as it destroys whatever that appears in its path. This naturally enrages everyone & with all efforts to pin down the creature fails, more & more people join in with the intention to have a shot at the feast that was on offer. The conflict between man & animal eventually gets evolved into something much more violent & primal, which is something that most of us will not expect.

Lijo Jose was the toast of the Malayalam Industry last year when he was awarded the best director at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Goa) for "Ee. Ma. Yau" & the Silver Crow Pheasant award at IFFK. Incidentally, he repeated the feat yet again for his present venture at IFFI, Goa. Based on the short story 'Maoist' by S Hareesh, the script penned by Hareesh & R. Jayakumar focuses on the savage instinct of man to subdue the bull which gets transformed into an event where each individual wants to portray themselves as being superior to the rest in skills & valour. This gives him a sense of entitlement to whatever he desires for whether it be the girl that he lusts for or acceptance of his machoism by the rest. Lijo once again proves mastery over his craft as he creates a  unique viewing experience that keeps us engrossed & culminates in a fantastic climax sequence. 

Equally praise worthy was Girish Gangadharan's visuals especially the lighting that he does for the major sections that happens in the night & the thrill that it imparts for the chase sequences. Similarly, Renganaath Ravee's BGM & Deepu Joseph's crisp editing also enhanced the impact of the movie. On the performance side, apart from Chemban Vinod, Antony & Sabumon, there are a host of other artists which aren't quite well known faces. Most of them have done their parts aptly but nothing that doesn't deserve special mention. 

Verdict: It is undoubtedly a well crafted movie that gives us a enthralling experience as it's something that we haven't been witness to earlier. It's more than a month since it had released & I presume most of you would have seen it by now. However, if you havent then make sure to check it out!!!

Rating: 3.75/5

Regards...Ben

Helen review: "Captivating survival thriller!!!"

The last couple of weeks saw a host of movies hitting the screens like “Helen”, “Jallikattu”  & “Moothon” and all of them have garnered credible response from both the audience as well as the critics. I didn’t quite have the time then to pen them down & usually when it has been in the theatres for more than a week or so, I usually don’t bother to write. But I couldn’t resist myself from expressing my viewpoint about Mathukutty Xavier’s “Helen” as it kept me glued to the screen for the whole duration of the movie. So why exactly do I think that you need to watch this???

I guess there isn’t much to discuss about as far as the plot is concerned since the trailer kinda reveals everything. Anywaz Helen (Anna Ben) is a nursing graduate who was preparing for her IELTS exam to land a job in Canada so as to help her father to pay off their debts. She also worked at a fast food restaurant in an upscale mall & shared an adorable relationship with her widowed father, Paul (Lal). Things moved along peacefully until she gets caught with her boyfriend, Azhar (Nobel Thomas) by the police squad as the latter had rode the bike under the influence of alcohol. This irked Paul primarily because he wasn’t aware that she was in a relationship & even before Helen could pacify him she disappeared without a trace the very next night. The question that everyone had was whether she eloped or was she kidnapped???

This was Mathukutty’s debut venture & it would be fair to admit that he has done a wonderful job especially since he opted to dabble with a genre like survival thriller which hasn’t been explored much in Malayalam. He had penned the script with Alfred Kurian Joseph & Noble Babu Thomas, & the trio deserves praise for keeping the events utterly believable. The dialogues, attitude of the grownups to the present generation, ill placed sense of moral policing etc., were all in sync with what we see around us. On the technical side, Anend Chandran’s visuals were fine while Shameer Muhammed maintains the mood aptly with his editing skills. At a running time of less than 2 hours, neither is it too elaborately staged nor is it flimsy executed & hence it manages to arrest our attention.

Anna Ben burst in like a breath of fresh air with her debut in the adroitly created “Kumbalangi Nights”. As Helen, she proved that beneath that wonderful smile that could light up a whole scene; she is more than capable of carrying a movie on her young shoulders. Even in front of an experienced actor like Lal, (who by the way has done an impressive job as well) she seemed at ease & the father-daughter chemistry that the duo shared really helped the movie. After having restricted himself to numerous roles that fed off humour, it was refreshing to see Aju Varghese don a character that showed his dark side & he has done utmost justice to it. As for the rest of the cast, Nobel Thomas & Rony David did their parts aptly as well.

Verdict: There is no surprise as to why this movie has done well since it has been crafted well. In case you haven’t watched it yet, do check it out without fail as it’s definitely worth the time spent & will surely appeal to most of the audience.

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards…Ben

Housefull 4 review: "Senseless comedy that would have haters & even takers. (I'm not joking)!!!"

About a week since Diwali & the brunt of the excessive smog due to the cold season setting in and stubble burning is bore by the national capital. Amidst all this, one movie that has still managed to get significant number of footfalls in the theatres is "Housefull 4". As per the latest box office reports, it has crossed the 150C mark & seems to be on track to even breach the double ton. Hmm, for a movie that many of the prominent critics have refused to comment on; it just proves that what actually matters is whether it manages to entertain the audience. Well even I had watched it primarily coz of Akshay but did it  tickle my funny bone??? 

As in the previous installments of the franchise, this also unfolds in London where Harry (Akshay Kumar) is a hairdresser. Incidentally, he & his brothers (Roy (Riteish Deshmukh) & Max (Bobby Deol) owed a significant amount of money to the don, Michael. In order to pay off the cash, the brothers hatch a plan to marry the three daughters of the billionaire Thakral (Ranjeet). But Harry gets flashbacks that seemed to hint that they were reincarnated & were getting married to their sister-in- laws. Even though he decides to ensure that the mistake is averted, would anyone in their senses believe him???

The last sentence that I had mentioned above is pretty much what most people would say when they hear this story. Of course it is silly, but did any of us expect a sensible script from this franchise after all the sole aim of the makers has always been to induce laughs at the absurdity of the events. Unlike the prequels, this has helmed by Farhad Samji after Sajid Khan stepped down in the wake of the MeToo allegations against him. There is no point in talking about the script & screenplay as both are equally weak but certain sequences lifted from "Padmaavat" & "Baahubali 2" along with Farhad's dialogues does evoke laughs. There are quite a few tracks in the movie of which I really enjoyed 'Shaitan Ka Saala' mainly because of the way it was picturised & choreographed. 

As usual, Akki carries the movie on his shoulders with his comic timing & classic goofiness. Giving him adequate company was Chunky Pandey's Aakhri Pasta & Riteish who did their parts aptly. As for the rest, Bobby seemed out of place, Ranjeet was fine, Rana & Nawazuddin were wasted in  insignificant roles while the girls barely had much to do. 

Verdict: As a person who didnt expect anything sensible from the movie except for laughter, I would have to admit that I was rather entertained. However, the low crass humour at times kinda spoiled the mood for me. In short, if you are looking for some mindless humour, then you are likely to enjoy it!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Bigil review: "Step aside Messi & CR7, Ballon d'Or belongs to Vijay!!!"

Whenever a Diwali or Pongal comes along, we have the A lister movies hitting the screens hoping to cash in on the festive vibe. This time around it was Vijay & Karthi vying for the top honours with Lokesh & Atlee respectively. After I had watched Lokesh's highly commendable "Kaithi", it was time to shift attention to Atlee's "Bigil". As I had mentioned in my previous review, I did find the trailer pretty entertaining & was eagerly looking forward to it. The question is whether that expectation was a hoax like the Twitter #DhoniRetires???

Michael Rayappan (Vijay) is the leader of the masses who is based in a slum in Chennai. He was always at logger heads with a rival gang headed by Daniel (Daniel Balaji) as the latter repeatedly tried to endanger his life. One such attack resulted in his friend, Kathir (Kathir) getting paralyzed for a sustained period of time. Incidentally, he was also the coach of the Tamil Nadu women's football team & requests the Association to consider Michael as his replacement as he was a star player in his heydays before destiny charted a different path for him. But will Michael be able to gain the trust of the girls especially since they held him responsible for their coach's condition???

Atlee burst into the industry like a breath of fresh air with "Raja Rani", but since then I have found his movies to be pretty ordinary. Incidentally, all of those movies featured Vijay making this his third on the trot. This is undoubtedly the most mediocre among the lot, as I just couldn't understand whether he took any kind of effort to script this along with S Ramana Girivasan. There are surely whistle worthy scenes which would make the fans go gaga but they are far & few. The second half which is a packaged as an inferior cousin of "Chak De" among other inspirations, barely manage to keep us engaged. However, I do acknowledge the fact that they had tried to incorporate women empowerment into the proceedings & managed to succeed in it to a certain extent. If at all Atlee was sensible enough to trim down on the excess flab & made it into a full fledged meaningful sports drama, then this would have imparted a whole different viewing experience. 

On the technical side, G K Vishnu visuals were fine though the manner in which game was shot left a lot to be desired. A R Rahman manages to lift the mood with his BGM & also with the 'Singapenney' track that he had rendered with Shashaa Tirupati. With an inconsequential script, there is precious little that Vijay could do but even then he does manage to carry the movie on the basis of his star value. As Michael he did his part aptly while as his father, Vijay's body language wasn't convincing in many sequences after all merely having a husky voice & dyed hair doesnt suffice. Nayanthara was ok though you cant help feel that she was wasted. As for the rest of the cast, Yogi Babu & Vivek tickles the funny bone while the rest were average.

Verdict: As expected, it had a bombastic opening at the box office & has closed in on the 150 C mark. But wihether it continue its march towards a blockbuster status remains to be seen. With regard to my opinion, I found it to be pretty mediocre & hope that Atlee makes a much more sensible movie with SRK, who is desperately trying to strike gold. In short, if you are a fan check it out or else dont bother!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Kaithi review: "Lokesh rocks this Diwali with a cracking thriller!!!"

The festival of lights is here & as I pen this review, the sky is lit up with fireworks going off like crazy. As one would expect, we have a plethora of movies hitting the screens to the extent that we are spoilt for choice. The Tamil film industry had two major releases in the form of Atlee's "Bigil" & Lokesh Kanagaraj "Kaithi" with my eyes firmly on Thalapathy's flick. But on the insistence of my friend, I decided to check out Karthi's movie first. Hmm, so was it the right decision after all the trailer of "Bigil" looked way more entertaining???

Special Task force officer Bejoy (Narain) & his team had confiscated a huge consignment of cocaine worth 800C. In order to ensure that the kingpin of the drug mafia is brought to justice, they decide to hide the evidence until further official assistance reaches them. However, the mafia had their informant in the police force who kept them updated about the latter's plans. To make matters worse, he laces the drinks of the task force who were celebrating the success of their mission. Since Bejoy didn't consume drinks, he stays alert but the injury that he had sustained during the mission meant that he couldn't take his unconscious colleagues to safety. Would he be able to out think the mafia & if so, how???

This is Lokesh's second venture after his impressive debut in "Maanagaram" & he has just reaffirmed his class with yet another cracking script. Being a festival season, makers usually invest on mass entertainers to cash in on the hysteria that a superstar would create on the 70mm screen. But Lokesh managed to marry mass with class so effectively that neither the fans are disappointed nor the others. I absolutely loved the manner in which each & every character is given importance irrespective of which side he is on. Thankfully there is no unnecessary flashbacks or song sequences, but still we get to know about the protagonist & the pain that he had to suffer over the years. Sathyan Sooryan's cinematography was immaculate especially since the whole story happens in the night & the manner in which he has adjusted the lighting deserves special praise. Sam C S's BGM was top notch & the stunt choreographer, Anbariv deserves a pat on the back though it is over the top at times (kinda expected after all they have to play to the galleries), but loved the 

It's been quite a while since I have seen Karthi in a role that made effective use of his skill set. Dilli certainly belongs to that category & this is undoubtedly one of his career best performances. The way he emotes with his eyes is absolutely brilliant & this role puts him in pole position to sweep quite a few awards. Similarly, Narain had fallen off the radar with infrequent & insignificant roles, but Bejoy will bring him back to the limelight just like how "Anjathe" boosted his career about a decade back.  Dheena was likable, the little girl was good while the rest of the cast did their parts aptly.

Verdict: This is undoubtedly one of the best Tamil movie in recent times which has everything that the audience could ask for. However, there is no denying the fact it is a tough task when you are up against a star like Vijay. So the initial collections might not do justice to the movie, but you can rest assured it is an engaging thriller that will leave you pleasantly surprised. In short, don't miss it!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Asuran review: "Vetrimaaran packs a punch as usual!!"

The Nobel Prize for Literature for the previous two years were announced on Thursday & as expected there was a huge furore over the choice of Peter Handke. His insensitive statements about the Serbian massacre of 1995 & apologist leaning towards Milosevic, the perpetrator of the genocide made him a rather infamous personality among the masses. However, his influence in contemporary fiction was undeniable & just like his fellow Nobel laureate, Olga Tokarczuk he has also written scripts & screenplay for movies. This just emphasizes the point that the contribution of novelists is immense in the film industry & even Vetrimaaran’s latest venture “Asuran” is based on the novel ‘Vekkai’ by Sahitya Academy winner Poomani. Strangely the movie had a rather low keel release as I barely came across much talk about it even in media. Though I didn’t even watch the trailer, I was more than eager to check it out after all the Vetrimaaran-Dhanush duo has always weaved magic.

Set in the 1980s in Kovilpatti, Sivasami (Dhanush) is a farmer on the run with his son Chidambaram (Ken Karunas) after the latter had killed Narasimhan (Aadukalam Naren), an influential landlord. It all began with Narasimhan who belongs to an upper caste tries to acquire their land adjoining his property to setup a cement factory. This essentially leads to a scuffle between the families & when Sivasami tries to pacify the situation with the help of the panchayat, he gets humiliated. Infuriated with the manner his father was treated, Murugan (Teejay Arunasalam) decides to teach Narasimhan a lesson. But little did anyone realize that it was going to change all their lives forever.

As in the past, Ventrimaaran treats the audience with a compelling drama which is crafted exquisitely & supported by a solid cast. He gives us an ample view as to how the poor struggle to hold onto their piece of land which is worsened further with the caste system in play. But the icing on the cake was when Sivasami advises his son about the power of education stating that though the powerful might be able to snatch their land and money, education will always reign supreme. As always, Vetrimaaran has nailed it when it came to the cast as each & every artists seemed perfect for the role they portrayed. G.V Prakash also deserves praise for the impactful BGM while Velraj’s visuals captures the rustic terrain & the night scenes exquisitely.

Whenever Dhanush has collaborated with Vetrimaaran, he has given a thumping performance & it’s no different this time as well. His restrained act as the frail middle aged individual in his appearance, gait & mannerisms was impressive. Manju Warrier is an artist par excellence & she proved it yet again in what was a perfect Tamil debut for her. Her portrayal of Pachaiyammal, kinda reminded me of her Bhanu in “Kanmadam”. Both Ken & Teejay were excellent & the rest of the cast have also done their parts impressively.

Verdict: With a favourable word of mouth, the movie has grossed close to 30 C in the  Tamil Nadu box office which is Dhanush’s career best as far as first week collections are concerned. It is the quickest Vetrimaaran movie to date, but you can rest assured that the quality still hasn’t deteriorated though it might not appear as content heavy as some of his previous ones. I presume that might be coz he stuck with the novel as close as possible. Anywaz don’t hesitate to watch this!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards…Ben

Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy review: "Engaging period drama!!!"

The Men in Blue got off to a winning start in the first Test of the Freedom series & seems poised to reclaim it yet again unless the Proteas batsmen are able to weather the storm. As most of you would be aware the trophy is named in honour of Gandhiji & Mandela,both of whom played key roles in the freedom struggle. The freedom that we enjoy is the product of millions of nameless or faceless patriots & one such individual happens to be Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy. Despite a keen interest in history, I had no clue of such a patriot & when the trailer of it came out with an enviable star cast led by Chiranjeevi, I was more than eager to check it out. 

The First War of Indian Independence in 1857 had commenced & our battalion incurred huge losses which dented the confidence of the soldiers. Jhansi Rani (Anushka Shetty), one of the main leaders of that rebellion boosts their self belief as she narrates to them the valour of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (Chiranjeevi) who had stood up against the British a decade back.  The Rayalseema area was ruled by a group of regional rulers known as Polygars of which Narasimha Reddy was the prominent one among them. As the British Empire continued to squeeze the poor with hefty taxes, Narasimha initiates a rebellion & in due time, the other Polygars also becomes part of the movement. What subsequently follows is how this brave warrior challenges the might of the Empire.

Surender Reddy is a relatively well known in the Telugu industry as he got quite a few movies to his credit like “Kick”, “Race Gurram” etc. However, his latest has to be his most ambitious project to date as it was made on a canvas as expensive as about 300C. This magnum opus is bankrolled by Ram Charan, which has his father as the protagonist based on the script by the Paruchuri Brothers, the veteran writer duo. They deserve credit for penning an entertaining drama that builds momentum as it leads to an engrossing latter half. The last half an hour was just exciting especially the climax which many might say was over the top but did give me goosebumps. The makers have made sure that they brought in the best of talent from various industries & ensured that it appealed to a wider audience due to the familiarity in the star cast. However, when something like that is attempted there is invariably the trouble of many characters ending up being poorly etched as is the case here with only Sudeep, Jagapathi Babu & Tamannaah given some credible screen space. The screenplay handled by the director himself could have been much better in the first half as there were quite a few sequences that could have been chopped off. Rathnavelu deserves praise for the cinematography while Julius Packiam’s BGM elevated the mood of many sequences.

It’s been a while since we have seen Chiranjeevi in a meaningful role & boy!!! he more than made enough for it with a superlative performance here. His screen presence was exceptional & it still goes onto show that the Megastar still has it in him if an apt script comes along his way. Another person who really wowed me was Tamannaah as I have never seen her in any meaningful roles. She absolutely nailed her part along with Sudeep who impresses with his ability to mix slyness with patriotism. Each & every member has done their parts aptly, but you can’t help feel that Big B, Vijay Sethupathi & even Nayanthara to a certain extent could have been offered meatier roles.

Verdict: Dussehra holidays & positive word of mouth meant that the movie cashed in impressive numbers at the box office with close to 130C until day 5. However, to break even it would still need a lot more footfalls across the globe. As far as my opinion goes, it’s an engrossing drama which is powered by Chiranjeevi’s thumping performance & a solid support cast. In short, definitely give it a try!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards…Ben

War review: "Visual orgasm!!!"

On the eve of Gandhiji's 150th birth anniversary, the audience were treated to two big banner movies that had hit the screens across the globe. One of which was ironically named "War" which was exactly what Gandhiji had vehemently fought against over the course of his life. Incidentally, it featured Hrithik & Tiger , two of the most handsome hunks in the film industry. With the talent that both of them are blessed with in terms of shaking their leg and flexing their muscles, we can rest assured of a paisa vasool extravaganza. But more often than not, such action flicks barely has a credible story to narrate. So does this also belong to the same category & if so, can the charisma of the main leads gloss over its shortcomings???

Kabir (Hrithik Roshan), the hotshot RAW agent had gone rogue & the Govt decides to eliminate him before matters worsened further. Since he had mentored some of the finest agents that the nation had, the mission to take him down was entrusted upon his ace student Khalid (Tiger Shroff). But the question that everyone had was what made a loyal patriot like Kabir move onto the dark side???

The project has been helmed by Siddharth Anand who has quite a few flashy celluloid creations to his credit. However, none of them were quite off the top drawer though it would be fair to admit that most of them were entertainers like "Bachna Ae Haseeno" & "Bang Bang". With Yash Raj Productions bankrolling the project, the production values are through the roof with exotic locations, swanky cars & exciting action sequences being created. So this brings us to the query that most are eager to know, does it have a worthy storyline? Well Siddharth doesn’t have anyone else to credit or blame for the script as he has penned it with Aditya Chopra. There is nothing that could be termed as inventive or a fresh take on a oft narrated tale, but it still manages to capture our attention primarily coz of the earnestness of the protagonists. I also enjoyed the twist that they had planted towards the latter half since I didn’t quite expect that. On the technical side, as opposed to a solo female lead there were four action directors on board & quite a few of the sequences were impressive especially the bike chase & the Mission Impossible inspired plane stunt. Benjamin Jasper deserves applause for the scintillating visuals while the minimalist song tracks barely captured our attention.

It’s been quite a while since we had seen Hrithik is a stylish avatar & as expected, he doesn’t disappoint. He has always been a fine actor but his choice of movies has been suspect & the time gaps that he chooses between his movies are way too long for his own benefit. Surprisingly this is his second movie of the year after “Super 30” which had performed well at the box office. He has done a fine job in all aspects & shared a palpable chemistry with his co-star, Tiger. The younger Shroff was always brilliant as a dancer & in action sequences, but he invariably came up short when it came to emoting on camera. However, he has performed much better here & manages to match Hrithik in quite a few scenes especially towards the end. As for the rest, Vaani Kapoor barely had much screen space while the others were barely noticed.

Verdict: As expected, it has set the box office on fire & broke the opening day collection records which were held earlier by “Thugs of Hindostan”. So will it also end up in a similar manner??? Well I certainly don’t think so as this is way more entertaining & is a treat for the eyes. It surely provides what the audience expects from such kind of a movie & seems poised to become a profitable venture. In short, it’s a pairing that everyone wanted to watch (I surely hoped so) & they deliver what the trailer promised!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kaappaan review: "K.V Anand needed to have a kaappaan for his mediocre script!!!"

Even as terrorism continues to rear up its ugly head across the globe, the significance of the security forces has increased manifold. They are those brave unnamed individuals who put their life on the line without an iota of reluctance so that the person whom they had entrusted to protect continue to breathe easy. In our nation, the concept of a Special Protection Group was created in response to the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Presently they are in charge of the proximate security of the PM, former PMs & their immediate family members. Incidentally, K V Anand's "Kaappaan" is about such a SPG officer & since Lalettan was also roped in as the PM, it didnt have to tempt me more to check it out.

Kathiravan (Suriya) is an organic farmer as well as an esteemed member of the secret forces who manages to foil as assassination attempt on PM Chandrakanth Verma (Mohanlal) in London. His daredevilry & mastery over his skills impresses the PM, who elevates him as his SPG. In due time, they share a close bond with each other. But despite the presence of Kathiravan, the terrorists manage to eliminate the PM & it's upto him to find out the masterminds behind the assassination. 

Without mincing words, I have to state that Anand has come up with a rather mediocre creation which to me was rather unexpected. I have seen quite a few of his previous ventures like "KO", "Ayan" etc., which I had enjoyed & hence I did have huge expectations about "Kaappaan" when he roped in Lalettan with Suriya. With a lack lustered script that he himself penned, I dont see the point of bringing in a brilliant actor like Lalettan or even Samuthirakani. To be frank, I believe he was casted merely for his star power rather than anything else. As is the norm in Tamil film industry in recent times, the plight of the farmers is touched upon before it gets transformed into an action thriller where the plans of the antagonist can be guessed even without a magic crystal ball. None of the technical aspects deserves special mention apart from Harris Jayaraj's music being pretty damn pathetic. 

Was it the money or a favour for a friend? I seriously dont understand why Lalettan opted to do a role that neither offered him much screen-time nor challenged his acting skills. Anywaz as usual, he performed admirably with what he was offered. Suriya has given an earnest effort yet again & has done utmost justice to the tole, but it's high time that he choose his scripts smartly rather than merely signing in every popular director. Arya was far from the right choice for the character as he required someone more younger, Samuthirakani was wasted, Sayyeshha was mediocre while Boman Irani did his part well.

Verdict: Well the box office collection reveals a different story as it became the highest opening weekend grosser of all time in the Tamil film industry. Seems like K V Anand & Lyca Productions would be laughing their way to the bank. However from a personal point of view, it might have the expectations of what we know Lalettan & K V Anand is capable of; but I was far from impressed!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Section 375 review: "Is Justice always served?"

Section 375...hmm, sounds familiar. I'm pretty sure this is the response that almost all of you would be saying since this particular section of the Indian Penal Code has unfortunately featured prominently in the news. So what exactly is it? A man is said to commit 'rape' who, except in the case hereinafter expected, has sexual intercourse with a woman consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is under 18. As per the UN Crime Trend statistics of 2013, India is among the nations with the maximum amount of rape & it's high time that strict action is taken against such perpetrators.This is the subject around which Ajay Bahl's "Section 375" is based upon & it seemed like an compelling court room drama.

Anjali Dangle (Meera Chopra), an assistant costume designer goes over to the residence of the director Rohan Khurana (Rahul Bhat) to get approval for a couple of costumes for the next day's shoot. After her visit, she files a sexual assault complaint against him & her medical examination corroborated her version. With incriminating evidence against Rohan, the sessions court sentences him to ten years of imprisonment. However, Rohan still maintained that he was innocent & his wife approaches popular advocate Tarun Saluja (Akshaye Khanna) to take up the case. Despite the case seemingly appeared not to have an loose ends, Tarun decides to take up the challenge. But was it really worth it with the public & media strongly against the accused rapist???

With the MeToo movement gathering momentum in the past few years, this is an interesting choice of movie that Ajay Bahl has come up with. This is his second directorial venture & it has been scripted by Manish Gupta who does have quite a few movies of his own like "Darna Zaroori Hai", "Hostel" etc. There is no doubt that the manner in which the court room is presented makes it interesting especially the segments where Akshaye provides his version as to how the events might have panned out. All the outrages, debates that are associated with such an incident are well showcased along with the pressures that the judicial system also faces. As a director, he has the right to exercise his creativity & show both sides of an incident, however one cant be faulted if it is misunderstood as a subtle belittling of the plight of the victim. Personally, I felt the scene where the judge seemed like a bit worried when he witnesses the outrage in the public was rather uncalled for. None of the other technical aspects deserves special mention.

In terms of performance, Akshaye portrays a character with shades of grey & feasts on it with glee. He gets to mouth the catchy lines & as always his expressions were spot on. Richa Chaddha has done her part reasonably well along with Meera Chopra. As for the rest of the cast, they did their parts aptly.

Verdict: It’s not the type of movie that will have a lot of takers but there is no doubt that it has been made well. Many might not like the manner in which Akshaye’s character presents the case as by nature we tend to put our support behind the victim. Anywaz do give it a try & come to your conclusion!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards…Ben

Chhichhore review: "Celebration of the lows!!!"

Another Onam comes to an end as Mahabali makes his way back to the netherworld after his annual visit to meet his subjects. All of us look forward to this festive season for various reasons with one of them being the release of big banner movies.  Incidentally, I haven’t been able to watch them yet though I did check out Nitesh Tiwari’s “Chhichhore”. Millennials has faced the brunt of the blame from the Finance Minister for the economic slowdown in the automotive sector. Well are they really responsible for it? Hmm…it’s something that needs to be analysed & I will give my view on that in FB. However, the question that is equally important is whether elders have equipped millennials to deal with failures. It doesn’t seem so considering the rise in number of suicides & that’s the subject that is tackled here by Tiwari which kinda interested me.

Anirudh Pathak/Anni (Sushant Singh) was a successful man & father to a teenage son, Raghav (Mohammad Samad) who was eagerly awaiting the results of the engineering entrance exams. Though Anirudh tries to instill confidence in his son, the latter always felt the pressure to perform as his parents were elite students in their days. Eventually when the result doesn’t pan out in the manner that Raghav had expected, he commits suicide. To the relief of his parents, he does escape but the prognosis of his medical condition was poor. In order to ingrain into Raghav that it was fine to falter in life, Anirudh tells him about his experiences in college & calls on his buddies to help him out in this difficult time.

With a movie like “Dangal” in his resume, Nitesh Tiwari is someone who doesn’t need an introduction. It’s been almost 3 years since the Aamir Khan starrer had released & I have to say that both the flicks had a certain degree of similarity in what they wanted to convey. If Mahavir Phogat forced his daughters to realize his dream, Anirudh wanted his son to pursue his dream without getting bogged by the pressure of expectations. It also has shades of “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar” where we saw Model & rajput colleges lock horns. Nitesh had penned the script in the company of Piyush Gupta & Nikhil Mehrotra and it does work fine for most parts. I am pretty sure many of us would relate to the events that unfold in hostels & it does give a sense of nostalgia. However, everything isn’t as endearing as the makeup department has done a pathetic job with the actors looking as if they were participating in some mediocre fancy dress competition.

All of the actors without exception struggled to portray their older self convincingly which was aggravated to a certain extent by the woeful makeover. However, in their normal avatar Sushant Singh along with Tahir Raj (as Derek) were my personal favourites. As for the rest of the cast, Varun Sharma rocked as Sexa while Naveen Polishetty, Tushar Pandey & Shraddha Kapoor did their parts aptly. Saharsh Kumar as Bevda felt miscasted while Prateik Babbar was reduced to a stereotypical role.

Verdict: As per the latest box-office reports, it is headed for 100C which more than amply proves that the audience had connected with the movie. Apart from keeping us in good spirits, it also talks about the need to applaud our failures, so that it gives us the impetus to rise from the doldrums. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards…Ben

Saaho review: "Hooo...everything feels like a blur!!!"

The Men in Blue decimated the Windies & clean swept the series while our shooters did the same in the World Cup in Rio. However, back home our economy was far from encouraging as many of the sectors especially automobile have faltered in the past few months. It is at this juncture that we had a movie made at a cost of 350 C that hit the screens last weekend. It happened to be "Saaho" which marked Prabhas's return to celluloid after the "Baahubali" series which skyrocketed his popularity across the nation. To be frank, I was far from impressed from the look of the trailer as it seemed like an over dosage of action sequences. So did my opinion change after I had viewed it for close to 3 hours???

Roy (Jackie Shroff) is the leader of the crime syndicate in the fictional land of Waaji & makes arrangements to move the assets to India. However, he gets killed in an accident & there is a tussle for the throne with Devraj (Chunky Pandey) announcing himself as the next leader. But before he could savour the taste of power, Roy's son Vishwank (Arun Vijay) turns up & takes charge much to the displeasure of the former. Around this time, the Indian police were in pursuit of a brilliant thief known as Shadow who had masterminded a 2000 C theft. The task is entrusted upon undercover agent Ashok Chakravarthy (Prabhas) & his team who try to untangle the mystery behind Shadow (Neil Nitin Mukesh) & soon realizes that he was linked to Roy's crime syndicate as well.

This is the second directorial venture of Sujeeth who made his debut a few years back with "Run Raja Run". However, with an opportunity to shoot on an elaborate canvas I would have to say that he has gone absolute bonkers. There are surely a couple of twists & turns in the script that he had penned & I am not a stickler for logic in these kind of movies but there has to be a method to the madness. The action sequences at times reminded me of the video-game 'NFS' & the henchmen looked like they were from "Mad Max". In addition, there are quite a few plagiarism accusations  be it the poster from "Ready Player One", the movie from the French flick "Largo Winch" or the song poster from artist Shilo Shiv Suleman's work. With hardly any engrossing factors, the length of the movie does take a toll on our patience. R Madhi deserves praise for the visuals while the music done by a host of individuals was just about average. The action choreographers deserves praise as quite of them were impressively staged. 

What was a guy like Prabhas doing in this movie? He was like a gentle giant who just didnt seem interested in the happenings around him . With the immense popularity that he garnered from Baahubali, he could have been more proactive in choosing his role. Shraddha Kapoor has done a decent job while the rest of the cast were ok. 

Verdict: From a personal point of view, the movie didnt impress me at all & did induce yawns from me. Anywaz the makers will be more than happy as they have cashed in on Prabhas's popularity & have more or less recovered their investment. So that invariably mean majority of the people liked it isnt it? Hmm...I guess so. Anywaz I wont recommend it!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Batla House review: "John impresses in this engaging drama!!!"

Seems like we have an action packed weekend with PV Sindhu storming into her third consecutive World Championship finals & the Ashes headed for an exciting end while our boys are driving home the advantage against the Windies. Since there wasn't nothing much to do, I thought of penning my thoughts about Nikhil Advani's "Batla House" that I had watched last week along with "Mission Mangal". Based on the Batla House encounter that took place on 19th September, 2008; it has been in the news primarily because the Delhi Police were accused of staging this stint. The trailer seemed to indicate that the makers had done a fine job in recreating the suspense & drama of the event. But does it manage to capture the attention of the audience???

The director loses no time in getting the drama underway as ACP Sanjay Kumar (John Abraham) & his team who had kept a close watch on a group of university students for a few months came to the conclusion that they were involved in the 2008 serial bombings. These students were staying in Batla House & his team had effectively ensured that there was no chance that they would manage to escape. However, despite Sanjay's orders not to initiate the operation until he was at the scene, his subordinate Inspector K K Verma (Ravi Kishan) went forward with the team. By the time the encounter gets over, they manage to gun down two of the students & catch one alive but lose K K in the process. Unfortunately for Sanjay, the media & the authorities were of the impression that it was a fake encounter & he is left with no choice but to prove that whatever he had done was in the best interest of the nation.

After a dream debut with "Kal Ho Na Ho", Nikhil Advani never quite managed to sweep the audience off their feet. He would be hoping to change that trend with his latest venture which has been penned by Ritesh Shah. There is no doubt that Nikhil has done a credible job in engaging the audience with this edgy drama. They have tried to maintain an unbiased stand though it is inevitable they would have to take sides to get the story move forward. The various aspects that an officer would have to face in the face of such events is shown pretty well be it the flak that he receives from his superiors, post traumatic stress, strained family life etc. Saumik Chatterjee deserves praise for the well executed frames & the BGM by John Stewart was also fine.

Over the last couple of years, there has been a conscious effort from John Abraham to trace a path similar to Akshay by starring in nationalistic flavoured movies. Though most of them have failed to strike a chord with the audience, his latest attempt here deserves an applause as I felt he has done utmost justice to the role. The primary reason for that is the mannerisms & expressions of the character which is pretty much just like John performs in all his movies. As for the rest of the cast, Ravi Kishan, Mridul Thakur, Manish Chaudhary & Rajesh Sharma were fine though the latter had one of the worst wigs possible.

Verdict: It's not the type of movie that would cater to many as it's kinda dull & John's previous movies doesnt inspire any expectation among the audience to watch this. Even the box office figures suggests that & grossed close to double what they had invested in it. Anywaz I certainly felt that it was decently made & had more than adequate content that engages our attention. In short, do check it out.

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Mission Mangal review: "Mission to entertain accomplished. Copy that!!!"

Just a couple of weeks more before Chandrayaan 2 will touch down on the lunar surface marking yet another significant achievement of ISRO. On the occasion of our space organisation's 50th anniversary, it would be fair to say that they have constantly amazed us with their mind boggling research & resourcefulness. One of their greatest accomplishments that made us brim with pride was Mangalyaan which was our nation's first interplanetary mission & in doing so, we became the first in the world to be successful in the maiden attempt itself. As one would have guessed Jagan Shakti's "Mission Mangal" is a fictionalized account of that incredible expedition. So is the celluloid creation as successful as the actual event???

India's attempt to launch GSLV had failed & the Mission director Rakesh Dhawan (Akshay Kumar) was put on the docks for the failure of his team. The responsibilities for the subsequent missions were handed over to Dr. Rupert Desai, an arrogant scientist who had recently joined ISRO after having served many years in NASA. To further rub it in on Rakesh, he was asked to lead the Mars mission with neither experienced personnels in his team nor adequate funds. However, with the able support of his brilliant project director Tara Shinde (Vidya Balan) they manage to come up with a credible team & plan. But the challenges were numerous & how they manage to overcome all of them forms the crux of the movie.

The project is helmed by the debutant Jagan Shakti, who had earlier worked as associate director for R. Balki. Apart from calling the shots, he had also penned the script with the support of his mentor Balki, Nidhi Singh & Saketh Kondiparthi. The thread of the story has immense potential as it is a classic case of the underdog emerging victorious. Though we have been witness to numerous Hollywood flicks that dealt with space expeditions, it’s a subject that’s not so common in our country. If you are a stickler for detail then this is not going to impress you as the manner in which the protagonists go about their task seems haphazard & too trivial. But Jagan has crafted his movie as an entertainer whereby even the common man would able to comprehend the elaborate mission without being overwhelmed with jargons & complicated theorems. Another positive is the back-story of the female protagonists which gives us a glimpse as to how women juggle with their various responsibilities as wife, mother & daughter with ease & yet manage to perform brilliantly in their profession. On the technical side, the CGI team has done a decent job while the other aspects were fine as well.

Even though the movie is marketed as an Akshay entertainer, it is the female protagonists who hog the limelight & the director needs to be applauded for this shrewd strategy. As always, the ever dependable Vidya Balan was fantastic as she effortlessly fits into the role of the mother as well as the project director. It’s not so easy to come across mainstream actors who doesn’t mind play second fiddle to his co-stars but Akshay has done exactly that. He has done justice to his part as the magnanimous leader & also blows his patriotic trumpet to good effect. The rest of the female leads have also done their parts aptly be it Nitya Menen, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu or Kirti Kulhari. As for the rest of the cast, Sanjay Kapoor was apt as the impatient husband who eventually brings the roof down with his “Raja” dance moves, while Sharman Joshi, H. G Dattatreya, Vikram Gokhale were fine.

Verdict: There is no doubt that it will cater to the audience for its entertaining nature without taking a toll on our grey cells. The latest box office reports have also shown that the movie is going great guns & should breach the 200 C mark. As I mentioned earlier, if one is to watch it with an open mind without being too touchy about the specifics of the mission, then you can rest assured to be in good spirits. In short, check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards…Ben

Nerkonda Parvaai review: "Faithful remake!!!"

It's been quite a while since I have written a review, though it doesn't mean that I didn't watch any movies in that period. Apart from "Article 15" nothing had quite caught my fancy, but since I was held up with some commitments in that weekend I couldn't find the time to write about it. Anywaz this weekend, I happened to watch "Nerkonda Paarvai" which is the remake of Big B's "Pink". Since I had loved the original, I was curious to see whether Ajith was able to do justice to Big B's brilliant performance.

As most of you would have watched "Pink", I dont think it would make sense to discuss the plot as it remained true to the original with a couple of action sequences inserted into it to satisfy the fans of Thala. However for the benefit of those who missed out on "Pink", it's about three girls who meets up with a couple of guys through a common friend on the sidelines of a music concert. Things move along fine until one of the guys, Adhik (Arjun Chidambaram) tries to molest Meera Krishnan (Shraddha Srinath) & the latter smashes a bottle on his head in self defense. With his ego hurt, he has the girls framed for murder & prostitution. This is when Adv Bharath Subramanyam offers his legal advice to the girls & eventually agrees to fight for them in court.

This is H Vinoth's third directorial venture & I do like his style of story telling as I had watched his previous movie "Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru". In his latest movie as well, he has done a pretty decent job though it would be fair to see that he didnt have much to do apart from follow a fixed template. He deserves praise for making sure that he didnt get over awed by Thala's stardom yet made sure that the latter's fans weren't disappointed. The dialogues were hard hitting & ensured that it suited the sensibilities of the Tamil audience. All the technical aspects be it Yuvan's music or Nirav Shah's cinematography, everything was in sync with the mood of the movie. 

Frankly speaking, I was a bit skeptical as to whether Thala would be able to essay Big B's role convincingly. I would have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised as he has done his part really well & it would certainly rate as one of his best career performances. Shraddha was impressive while the rest of the cast have done their parts aptly. 

Verdict: As per the latest box-office reports it has broken records in the overseas collections while the domestic circuit also seems to be doing well. After a relatively sedate July, the box office is alive & augurs well for the subsequent releases. If you havent watched "Pink", then definitely do watch this as it explores the plight of women who have to face sexual harassment & the need to change the prejudices in the society!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben