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