Paava Kadhaigal review: "Impactful as expected!!!"

A couple of months back, "Putham Pudhu Kaalai" was released on Amazon Prime which saw a host of talented directors coming together for an interesting Tamil anthology. This time around Netflix has come out with an anthology of four stories in the form of "Paava Kadhaigal". However, unlike the previous one; this looked pretty grim & deals with topics that has consistently shaken our conscience. These include the trauma that transgenders go through, honour killing, caste based violence etc & these are not incidents confined to any particular part of our nation. Hmm... so does the maverick directors deliver what we expected???

So as mentioned earlier, this is a compilation of 4 stories which are as follows

Thangam

Sudha Kongara has set this story in Kovai in the 1980s where Sathar (Kalidas Jayaram) who has been saving money to perform his transgender surgery is in love with his childhood friend Saravanan (Shantanu Bhagyaraj). However, his hopes of marrying his friend was shattered when the latter tells him that he was in love with Sathar's sister Sahira (Bhavani Sre). Though heartbroken, Sathar does whatever was possible in his power to get the two together but the price that he had to pay for was much more than what any of them had expected. 

Love Panna Uttranum

The next segment was directed by Vignesh Sivan who draws our attention to a feudal land lord Veerasimman (Padam Kumar), who portrays himself as someone who believes in caste equality. This was merely a facade to boost his political career since in reality he despised interactions with the lower caste which included slaughtering of couples involved in inter caste marriages that he himself endorsed. Just like the public, even his daughter Aadhi (Anjali) believed in the broad mindedness of her father & opened up about her affair to their driver. Will her father be able to accept her daughter's wishes???

Vannmagal

Gautham Menon has been on a roll in recent times & he has come up with yet another winner about a family that goes through the trauma of their daughter being raped. Satya (Gautham Menon) & Mathi (Simran) tries to deal with the tragedy in their own ways while the brother, Bharath (Aadithya Bhaskar) bayed for revenge. Amongst all these flood of emotions, will their daughter ever have a normal life???

Oor Iravu

The director that I looked forward the most to in this group was Vetrimaaran & he has rocked as always with a movie that is disturbing yet not gruesome. This also deals with a girl marrying against her families' wishes to a guy from a different caste.  The couple in question was Sumathi (Sai Pallavi) & Hari (Hari Krishnan) who were well settled & expecting the birth of their first child. It was at this juncture that her father Janakiraman (Prakash Raj) manages to locate them & invites them over to the hometown for the baby shower. However, will her relatives be able to keep aside their animosity???

All the segments were picturized well & had an interesting tale to convey, though Vignesh's part did not quite have the effect that the other three had. In terms of performance, pretty much everyone has done utmost justice to their roles of which Kalidas & Simran definitely stood out. It was heartening to see Kalidas being offered a meaty role & he was able to convey the nuances that the character required aptly. Similarly, Simran was spot on as the anguished mother who braves the storm in her daughter's life resolutely.

Verdict: This a is type of movie that will give the audience a couple of uncomfortable moments. It makes us realize that whatever might be the case, families need to stick together at all times rather than sacrifice happiness for the sake of the society. Of course we have to survive in a society, but nothing is more important than the happiness and welfare of our loved ones. The movie doesn't quite have light moments, so if you are looking for some light entertainment; this is definitely not the one for you or else dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

AK vs AK review: "Kapoor rocks though the movie doesn't quite!!!"

Seems like most of the establishments are back on their feet though the film industry is still waiting for the day when the public will flock back to the theatres. Until then, OTT platforms will remain their only option to showcase their wares & this Christmas season,  Netflix released Vikramaditya Motwane's "AK vs AK". Ever since I saw it's trailer a couple of weeks back, it certainly aroused my curiosity as it was a meta movie & from the looks of it, both Anil Kapoor & Anurag Kashyap has gone all out in this experimental flick. But will the audience warm up to the concept after the initial thrill.

Anurag has been chosen as the subject of a documentary titled 'Best of Indian Cinema' which was shot by an aspiring film maker, Yogita. Her assignment starts off with Anurag attending a talk show with Anil in which they get into a war of words which eventually resulted in the latter being thrown a glass of water onto his face. As expected, Anurag's actions were slammed by many in the industry & he gets professionally sidelined. This is when Anurag along with Yogita hatches a plan to kidnap Sonam Kapoor & put her father through a world of pain. 

It's been quite a while since Motwane had called the shots but he has been involved on the production side of some interesting movies like "Cargo", "Manmarziyaan" in the recent past.  His latest directorial venture is truly an experimental meta movie that has real & reel being played out in equal measure in front of the audience. Scripted by Avinash Sampath, it is an interesting movie with many of the dialogues being acerbic yet humorous . However, the glitzy life of the stars, their insecurities, privileges' as well as troubles that they have to take coz of their profession has been shown in fair detail. In terms of the plot, it certainly had a suspense element to it but it lacked the thrill & the twist in the end, kinda missed its mark. On the technical side, Swapnil Sonawane's camera work, Bunty Bhansali's editing and production designs were spot on with the mood of the movie

This is undoubtedly one of the finest performances from Anil Kapoor in the last decade or so. He was completed invested in the role & it's hard not to appreciate the effort that veteran has put in at this age. In comparison, Anurag seemed average especially in the latter half of the movie while the rest of the cast which were mostly cameos seemed ok with Harshvardhan seemingly outlandish. 

Verdict: First & foremost, kudos to Motwane for taking the effort to create a different type of movie. However, the script could have been much more tighter as it fails to keep the audience hooked until the very end. In short, Anil was brilliant & though the movie doesnt quite match upto its potential, it's still worth a try !!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Laxmii review: "Irrespective of the change in title, it would have still bombed!!!"

Over the years, we have been witness to news of movie's title being changed either due to superstitions or pressure from external sources. The latest to join this bandwagon is Raghava Lawrence's "Laxmii" when certain religious outfits took offence over it's original title. Well it was released prior to Diwali & there were certainly high hopes riding on this movie after all it had Akshay back in his comic avatar or atleast that is what the trailer seemed like. Alas, it wasnt to be as it seemed like a competition for mediocrity for large parts of the movie.

Asif (Akshay Kumar) does not believe in ghosts & exposes fake gurus who tries to swindle money on the pretext of supernatural occurrences. On the wedding anniversary of his in-laws with whom he shared a strained relationship as his father in law, Sachin (Rajesh Sharma) didnt approve him of being married to their daughter, Rashmi (Kiara Advani), they invite him over in the hope of breaking the ice. Apparently, there was a haunted ground in the vicinity & after Asif had visited it, strange events start unfolding in his in laws home. Will Asif eventually be forced to believe in ghosts???

So Lawrence makes his Bollywood directorial debut with the remake of his own Tamil movie "Kanchana" (2011). I dont know about others but I certainly didnt find the original interesting & was perplexed as to why would anyone want such an average movie being remade. Anywaz since Akshay was in the mix, I certainly had hopes but it turned out to be an absolute torture for large parts. However, the portions that featured Sharad Kelkar as Laxmii was impressive & even Akshay in the transgender avatar (especially in the Bam Bam Bhole song sequence). But that was solely for their performance & not for the mediocrity that unfolds on the screen. 

Apart from Sharad Kelkar's performance, none of the rest deserves a mention as all of their performances were so damn pathetic & artificial. Even Akshay who usually revels in comedy sequences failed to tickle the funny bone. Ashwini Kalsekar seemed like she was vying for the worst performer award with stiff competition from Ayesha Raza. 

Verdict: Damn...this was undoubtedly the worst movie that I have seen of Akshay in the past few years. It belies my logic as to why Fox Studios decided to even invest money for such a lame script. In short, definitely AVOID IT!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben

Chhalaang review: "A leap that doesnt quite match upto Hansal Mehta's credentials!!!"

The US Presidential Elections has come to a close with Biden chosen as the next President but Trump has chosen not to concede defeat for reasons that seemed absolutely absurd. Well even as many leapt in joy at his defeat, back home the Union Health Ministry announced that the COVID recovery rate leaped 92% of the cumulative cases. Hmm...seems like 'leap' is the oft used word in recent times as one of the the Diwali releases was "Chhalaang" which featured the hit duo of Hansal Mehta-Rajkummar Rao who have given us some excellent movies in the past. Apart from that, it also seemed like a sports drama which is one of my favorite genres. So is it yet another winner from the hit pair???

Mahender aka Montu (Rajkummar) is the PT Master in the same school that he spent his formative years. However, he lacked the professionalism, credentials or even the passion that was needed for his job as he took it for granted. But he was in for a rude shock when the Principal (Ila Arun) recruits Inder Mohan Singh (Mohammed Zeeshan) as the senior coach. Though he initially agrees to be the latter's subordinate, it didnt last for long & the duo decide to settle their differences with the teams that they coached across three disciplines. So will this motivation make Montu shake off his lackadaisical attitude for good???

A couple of weeks back, Mehta came out with "Scam 1992" a cracker of a web series & if you guys havent watched it, dont miss it. But the same cant be said about his latest celluloid creation which frankly speaking just didnt have anything that captured our attention as the script by Luv Ranjan, Aseem Arora & Zeishan Quadri lacked imagination. Even the sports drama that is being created in the latter half was predictable & lacked the thrill that we would normally associate with such genres. On the technical side, the music by a host of individuals was good while Eeshit Narain's visuals were fine.

All the artists have done their parts aptly be it Rajkummar, Zeeshan or Saurabh Shukla but with the script not offering much scope; there isn't much that they can add onto it except that they made it a decent watchable experience. Nushrat Bharucha did justice to her role but I felt she was miscast for the part.

Verdict: Well it is certainly one of the weakest movie of the Hansal-Rajkummar duo as it is pretty predictable stuff & doesnt offer anything different that we would naturally expect from them. In short, just an average feel good flick at best!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Ludo review: "An interesting fun take on karma & dharma!!!"

How often have we played the game of Ludo? Interestingly, it was derived from Pachisi (I presume you would remember it as the game in which Pandavas were cunningly slam dunked by Shakuni that led to the Kurukshetra War). Anywaz as has been the norm in the past, England modified the dice into a cube & patented it as 'Ludo'. In Anurag Basu's "Ludo", just as in the game; it's an anthology of four set of characters whose lives converge at various junctures with the ultimate aim being to settle down in peace. There were a few segments in the trailer which indicated that it was a fun movie & with an interesting mix of characters including our Pearle Maaney, it seemed like a perfect choice for Diwali.

Sattu Bhai (Pankaj Tripathi) was the much feared don in the area & his latest victim was a builder. However, that sets off a chain of reactions one of which included Rahul Awasti (Rahul Suresh), a sales boy who happened to be the witness to the crime & Pinky Jain (Fatima Sana Shaikh), whose husband was the friend of the builder and had used the latter as an alibi to hide his extramarital affair. At around the same time, Bittu (Abhishek Bachchan) who was once the trusted lieutenant of Sattu Bhai; came over to meet him to settle some financial disputes. Another character that was linked to the don was Akash (Aditya Roy Kapur), a ventriloquist & dubbing artist who sought the former's help to remove a sex tape of him & his girl friend, Shruti (Sanya Malhotra) that had found its way into the internet. How each of these set of characters try to get out of the mess that they found themselves in forms the crux of the movie.

It's been quite while back since we had been treated to Basu's celluloid creations with the last one being "Jagga Jasoos" that released in 2017. Even though his movies might have missed the mark at times, there is no denying the fact that he always tries to bring in something unique & different in every project that he works on. His latest release which he had scripted along with Samrat Chakraborty belongs to the crime comedy genre & it undoubtedly keeps our spirits high. Actually Basu has juggled with quite a few hats here as he has shared the credit with Rajesh Shukla for the cinematography & was also the production designer and he has handled all of it impressively. The choice of colours that has given for each set of characters was interesting with Pankaj Tripathi being the dice. 

Another major positive was the choice of artists & each of them have done their parts aptly be it Pankaj who has risen to one of the finest actors in Bollywood or Abhishek whose careful choice of movies is slowly but steadily resurrecting his career. To be frank, apart from Basu; the other two people coz of whiom I was eager to watch this movie were Rajkummar Rao who nails it as the quintessential Mithun da fan & Pearle who as expected handled her part with ease. Kudos to Pritam as well for some melodious tracks rendered by Arijit Singh.

Verdict: Despite a running time of 150 minutes, it isn't the type of a movie that takes a toll on your patience. There are surely certain sequences that could have been trimmed but once the stories unfold then it's unadulterated humour. In short, you can rest assured of being entertained!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Soorarai Pottru review: "Both the cast & crew deserves pottru!!!"

Just a month more for Xmas & I hope to spent it with my family after all COVID had spoiled my earlier plans to visit home during Easter & Onam. Anywaz I have been looking at airline tickets & realized as to how much the charges have changed over the years thanks to the no frills airlines which became a reality in our country at the turn of the millennium. This was the result of the hard work & determination of Captain G R Gopinath who founded Air Deccan. So this Diwali, Sudha Kongara gave a tribute to this incredible personality in the form of a biopic titled "Soorarai Pottru". The trailer was impressive & it certainly seemed liked a winner.

Nedumaaran (Suriya), an ex-air force officer harboured hopes of launching a low cost airline that will even allow the financially challenged to make use of this conveyance without having to worry about its exorbitant costs. He drew inspiration from Paresh Goswami (Paresh Rawal) who also came up from humble beginnings to become the biggest airline tycoon in the country. However, Maaran's efforts failed to bear fruit as none of the investors saw it as a viable business proposition & to make matters worse, Paresh made sure that the former was beset with bureaucratic obstacles. But Maaran had his eyes set to the skies & how he eventually manages to achieve that despite all odds forms the crux of the movie.

Based on Captain Gopinath's 'Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey', Sudha Kongara created a dramatized version of it taking cinematic liberties but made sure that the struggle, pain & emotions of the protagonist was captured aptly. Though it does get a tad lethargic in certain sequences, it certainly kept me engaged until the very end. Sudha deserves praise for the apt choice of artists & for making sure that apart from Suriya, others like Aparna, Urvashi etc also had the opportunity to make their presence felt . Most of the emotional scenes were picturized well especially the one between Suriya & Urvashi after his father passes away which was undoubtedly one of the best that I have seen in recent times. On the technical side, the colours that Niketh Bommireddy had opted for the visuals were in sync with the mood of the movie & the terrain. GV Prakash's music gelled well while Sathish Suriya could have done a better job on the editing table. 

This is undoubtedly one of Suriya's career best performances & I would be surprised if he doesnt carries home a bunch of awards for his fantastic portrayal of the character. Giving him excellent support was Aparna Balamurali & though I didnt quite feel a cracking chemistry between them, she was spot on as the independent & strong Bommi. There isnt much that needs to be said about Urvashi after all she is one of the finest artists that our nation has seen & she continues to mesmerize us with strong performances. Paresh Rawal had done his part well though I felt it was kinda one dimensional, Mohan Babu could have been given a meatier role while the rest of the cast like Karunas, Krishnakumar (as Che) etc did justice to their roles.

Verdict: It's really unfortunate that this couldn't have a theatrical release as it certainly deserved one seeing the effort that has been invested in by the cast & crew. Both Sudha & Suriya deserves cheers for a wonderful job as they have created a movie which though not of the mass masala genre does have the ingredients to keep the audience hooked onto it. In short, the length of the movie might be a downer for some but you definitely got to check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

 

Putham Pudhu Kaalai: "Interesting anthology that works in parts!!!"

With the COVID pandemic still very much prevalent, the world has woken up to the fact that we will have to find ways to live within especially since the vaccines isn't still around. Even if it does, it would still take significant amount of time before it would be made available to each one of us. One of the things that has taken center stage during this COVID time was the use of social network for both professional & personal interests. The film industry has also realized its potential & joined hands with OTT platforms to showcase their celluloid creations. Seeing the talent on offer, Amazon Prime roped in five maverick Tamil directors for an anthology titled "Putham Pudhu Kaalai". The trailer surely looked interesting & everyone would be curious to know whether it is indeed the dawn of a new beginning.

As mentioned earlier, it is an anthology of five stories whereby the characters in most of the segments are holed up at home due to the lockdown. None of the five directors needs introduction as they have all done impressive work in the past & has done more of the same here as well. 

The first segment 'Ilamai Idho Idho' was about love between two senior citizens, Rajeev (Jayaram/ Kalidas) & Lakshmi (Urvashi/Kalyani). This was helmed by Sudha Kongara while it was penned by Francis Thomas & Shruti Ramachandran. Both Jayaram & Urvashi was impressive as ever & the idea to have Kalidas & Kalyani (who did have a good chemistry) showcase as to how they felt young at heart despite their actual ages was good. However, I really wished there was more of the seniors on screen. 

This was followed by 'Avarum Naanum-Avalum Nannum' where a grandfather, a retired scientist (M S Bhaskar) & granddaughter, an IT professional Kanna (Ritu Verma) try to iron out their strained relationship. With all due respect to Gautham Menon, I was pleasantly surprised to see him in this avatar as we usually relate him with romance. But he has treated this subject penned by Reshma Ghatala in a matured & subtle manner and his eye for nuances of the characters was fantastic. MS Bhaskar was brilliant as we make us empathize with his feelings & he was given credible support by Ritu as well. 

The third segment, 'Coffee, Anyone?' is about three daughters with varying problems of their own meeting up with their comatose mother. Directed by Suhasini, this felt like a family reunion as almost all the artists were related to each other in real life. She has addressed quite a few topics in her section be it familial discord, late pregnancy, dyslexia etc. Though it was relatable & taken aptly, I felt there was something about the performances (especially Suhasini) which didnt seem as authentic.

'Reunion' is about two school friends, Sadhana (Andrea Jeremiah) & Vikram (Gurucharan) who accidentally meet & catch up on the old times. This was the segment that I wasnt impressed at all as Rajiv Menon's creation just failed to make any sense. He wanted to convey that music can be a healer which as such seemed fine, but did not gel as much with the story that was put together.  The choice of artists were really good be it Gurucharan, Andrea & Leela Samson, as it felt they were tailor made for the characters and they have done reasonably well. 

The final part 'Miracle' has two thieves, Devan (Bobby Simha) & Michael (K Muthukumar) who is looking for a huge payday. Karthik Subbaraj made sure that we had a good laugh before the movie ended as I thoroughly enjoyed this comic caper. Both Bobby & Muthu has done a fine job & kudos to Karthik for a segment that had a story & kept us entertained. 

Verdict: The anthology definitely had a couple of ups & downs, but on the whole I felt that it was a reasonable effort that does manage to keep us engaged. There is another Tamil anthology also in the making "Paava Kadhaigal" that also has an amazing array of directors & would be releasing in the near future on Netflix. As for this flick, some of the segments might not be to your liking but it is still worth a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Halal Love Story review: "Simplistic storyline dampens an interesting theme!!!"

Even as COVID numbers still hovered around the 70k mark per day, the Centre released the guidelines for Unlock 5.0. One of the key points was the permission to reopen the theatres after close to 7 months from the 15th of October with 50% capacity. Whether that would allow the theatres to recover their operational costs & whether it would allay the fears of the general public to flock inside a confined space remains to be seen. However, we certainly had one last Thursday as Zakariya Mohammed's "Halal Love Story" was released on Amazon Prime. I certainly loved the trailer & looked forward to some fun moments after all his "Sudani from Nigeria" was impressive.

The movie unfolds with the news of the 9/11 attack on the WTC on TV & a talk about how the world was affected by the neo-imperialism of US. Within the first few minutes, the audience is introduced to the political & religious inclinations of the area. The Islamic cultural branch of the locality decides to make a crowdfunded telefilm that would abide by the rules of their faith & entrusts the task to Taufeeq (Sharafudeen) to come up with a suitable script. Once that gets approved by the committee, they start their search for a suitable cast & crew. So will they be able to craft a movie that would give them creative freedom but yet adhere to the sensibilities of their religious group???

Zakariya is an individual who needs no introduction after all his debut venture "Sudani from Nigeria" was loved by both the critics & the masses. In his latest release, he has come up with an interesting subject but fails to nail it effectively. It was way too simplistic with hardly any substantial events happening though the satire keeps us engaged with the situational humour & a reliable cast. On the technical side, pretty much everything was on the money be it Bijibal & Shahbaz Amin's music which was soothing to the ears or Ajay Menon's visuals. 

Quite a few reliable artists were lined up for the project among which Grace Antony was the one who took centre with a solid performance. Equally impressive was Joju George, who seems to get better with each movie. As for the rest, Indrajith & Sharafudeen did their parts aptly along Nazar Karutheni. There were a couple of cameos as well among which Soubin brings the roof down with a hilarious act while Parvathy was natural as ever.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the movie has failed to match expectations considering the quality of the cast & crew and most importantly a novel theme. Even then , it would certainly keep majority of us engaged as most are unlikely to fret about the time spent watching it. In short, do check it out if interested in a feel good flick!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Serious Men review: "Satirical take on the serious subject of class & caste!!!"

Almost 70 years has passed since we have adopted our Constitution which was drawn up by the visionary Dr.B.R Ambedkar. One of the key points mentioned in it is the need for equality & fraternity, and though we have progressed by leaps & bounds as a nation; discrimination based on social hierarchy still continues to be a significant bane. Ironically, both Andhra & Telangana where caste based killings are a routine affair, recently announced about their plan to build statues of Ambedkar. Will it make any change to the life of discriminated individuals? Of course not, after all it is merely vote bank politics. This is the subject that Sudhir Mishra has tackled in his satirical celluloid creation “Serious Men” that released on Netflix last weekend.

Ayyan Mani (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is the PA to Dr. Arvind Acharya (Nassar), one of the prominent astronomers in the nation who was working on ‘alien/space microbes’ & barely displayed an iota of respect to his subordinate. This attitude from his boss ate on Ayyan’s mind as he felt that it was primarily because he wasn’t as educated & also coz he was a Dalit. He believed that the only way that his son could rise up the social strata was to provide him with the best educational opportunities possible. With time, things started to pan out much better than Ayyan had anticipated as his son, Adi (Aakshath Das) was a genius & the cynosure of all eyes. But will Adi be able to cope up with the mounting media attention & the pressure from his father???

It’s been quite a while since I have watched Sudhir Mishra’s movies though most of us would have definitely watched Season 1 of the Hotstar web series “Hostages” which was damn impressive. Based on Manu Joseph’s novel, it is humorous, engaging & yet makes us think at the same time regarding the plight of those people discriminated on the basis of their caste. The extent to which Ayyan plans his moves so that his son is held in high regard by the society was interesting but the manner in which the story concluded was definitely not what I had expected. This does not imply that everything has to be rosy at the end but the message it conveyed surely send out the wrong signals when the whole perspective of the subject is concerned. All the technical aspects, be it Karel Antonin’s music or Alexander Sukala’s visuals were executed aptly.

As expected, Nawazuddin was fantastic as the protagonist who is aware about his situation but still had the belief and the shrewdness as to how he can take his family up the social ladder. Apart from him, both Aakshath & Indira Tiwari essayed their roles really well while Nassar & the rest of the cast did their parts aptly.

Verdict: Caste discrimination is a topic that has been discussed earlier but even then this flick manages to engage us due to the satirical manner in which it is presented. There are many sequences that make us laugh and think, though I felt that the climax was rather underwhelming. However, it is a movie that still deserves to be watched!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards…Ben

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nishabdham review: "Hard to remain nishabdh about the mediocrity of the plot!!!"

Over the last couple of days, the White House has remained rather tight lipped or more appropriately lacked credibility when it came to imparting info about the condition of President Trump. Back home, the focus is back on the safety of women after the Hathras gang rape; though many of the political bigwigs who were verbose about the Bollywood drug nexus & the elephant death in Kerala have chosen to remain silent. Coincidentally Hemant Madhukar's latest venture is titled "Nishabdham" which had a pretty engaging trailer. So was the movie worth talking about???

The film unfolds in the 1970s in Seattle when a couple gets murdered in their home under mysterious circumstances. With the police unable to crack the case, it was concluded that some paranormal being was responsible for the murders & the house was deemed as haunted. The view shifts to the present day & the house was in the news yet again as renowned cello player, Antony (Madhavan) was found murdered in it the exact same manner. He had visited the house along with his fiancé, Sakshi (Anushka Shetty); a deaf & mute artist who luckily managed to escape with minor injuries. The case was taken up by Detective Maha (Anjali) & her Chief Richard Deakins (Michael Madsen) who refused to believe that a ghost was behind the crime. So were they indeed true or did Sakshi being the only witness to the murder have a different version???

This was the first time that I came to know about the director Hemant Madhukar, though he had taken a few movies in the past & hence I watched the movie without any prejudice. To be frank, the script by the director was pretty pathetic to say the atleast & it wasn't aided in any manner by Kona Venkat's uninspired screenplay. It started off a decent horror thriller but neither did they explore that angle properly nor did they do justice to the investigation part as the audience were considered as imbeciles virtually spoon fed for every sequence. However, Shaneil Deo's visuals were pretty impressive & the music by Girishh G was fine. 

If the script itself is amateurish, there is precious little what the artists could do & that's exactly what we see over here. Both Madhava, Anushka & Subbaraju did their parts aptly, Shalini was ok while Anjali was damn ordinary. One of the reasons why I was excited to watch this movie was Michael Madsen & to be brutally honest, he was just UNBEARABLE. I fail to understand how an actor who has performed admirably in Tarantino's movies can be so abysmal. 

Verdict: It's undoubtedly a huge disappointment considering the quality of the cast that Hemant had assembled. Apart from a couple of sequences, it was just a dull affair & hence I dont think it's worth time spending for!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben 

Halahal review: "Engaging realistic drama that could have been paced better!!!"

Over the centuries, India has produced some of the finest minds that the world has seen & it's a testament of our educational system. However, with time just like with every other system this also requires an upgrade & it's high time it is implemented so as to take advantage of the wealth of human resources that we have at our disposal. Our educational system needs to create individuals who could think critically with the knowledge provided rather than merely regurgitate verbatim onto the answer sheet. There has been no dearth of corruption in the education sector where money speaks more than talent at times & one such incident happened to be the Vyapam scam in MP in 2013. This happened to be the inspiration for Randeep Jha's "Halahal" which released last weekend on Eros Now. 

Dr. Shiv Shankar Sharma (Sachin Khedekar), a reputed physician wakes up to the news of the death of his daughter, Archana (Enab Khizra); a brilliant Medical student. As per the the police, they conclude the cause of death to be suicide & promptly decides to close the case much to the dismay of the family especially since there were discrepancies in the autopsy report. The attitude of the investigation team raises suspicion in Dr. Sharma as it was evident that they had some ulterior motive. Soon enough he realizes that his daughter was the victim of a conspiracy though he didn't have any solid evidence to substantiate his claims. So he decides to sought the help of a corrupt officer Yusuf Qureshi (Barun Sobti) who swayed to the direction where the scent of money wafted from. Can Yusuf be trusted & will the real culprits ever be caught???

There is no doubt that Randeep Jha has chosen an interesting topic in the scam of Medical seats which has been penned by the trio of Gibran Noorani, Zeishan Quadri & Sandeep Gade. The manner in which the story reveals itself slowly is a delight & the reveal that is made in the climax is pretty impressive. They have opted to create characters that have grey shades &  have made it in a completely believable fashion. However, it falters as far as the pacing is concerned since Randeep ought to have made the events much more tighter to give that sense of urgency to the audience which isn't there & hence there is a risk of lethargy setting in at times. As for other aspects, Piyush Puty's cinematography deserves praise as the visuals and the colour tone was in sync with the mood.

Sachin Khadekar is in fine form as the helpless & frustrated father and giving him good company is Barun Sobti, who after his praise worthy performance in "Asur" has impressed yet again. There are quite a few decent supporting artists, but the movie is virtually carried forward on the able shoulders of Sachin & Barun.

Verdict: It's not the type of the movie that would wow the audience but it is a slow pot boiler which will keep us interested, though it had scope for more if the execution was better. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben 

London Confidential review: "Intelligence agencies would laugh at the amateurish execution!!!"

Ever since COVID 19 unleashed havoc in the beginning of this year, scientists across the globe have been working tirelessly to understand Coronavirus so as to formulate effective preventive measures.  One of the most prominent theories that had floated around regarding the origin of this virus is that it was created by the Chinese. Giving traction to that theory is Dr. Li-Meng Yan, who posted her article a few days back on Zenodo, an open access site for sharing research paper; where she has apparently laid down evidence to support her claims. Incidentally, Kanwal Sethi's "London Confidential" that released on Zee5 is about a whistleblower who agrees to expose the involvement of the Chinese in the creation of a deadlier virus than corona. The trailer definitely had been hooked & I was keen to know whether the movie matches upto it. 

The world was still very much in the grip of the COVID pandemic, when the Indian Intelligence unearthed info that a much deadlier virus was spreading rapidly along the Indo-China border & it was masterminded by the Chinese. The ace up their sleeves was that a Chinese whistleblower had agreed to expose her nation at the international conference on virology that was going to be held in London in a week's time. However, Biren Ghosh (Diljohn Singh) the undercover RAW agent who was the only person that had contacts with the whistleblower goes missing mysteriously. It was now upto his colleague, Uma Kulkarni (Mouni Roy) who headed the mission along with her team to unravel the mystery before it was too late. 

Kanwal Sethi was a relatively new name for me since I haven't watched his previous ventures like "Once Again" & "Fernes Land". At first glimpse, the subject that was penned by Hussain Zaidi, Akshay Singh & Prateek Payodhi captivated me. They had a thrilling premise which would set the stage for an engaging watch if they executed it properly. But alas, it wasn't to be as Kanwal & his team executed it in the most amateurish way possible. Even if he didnt do research on how the secret service operates, atleast he could have watched some Hollywood movies & done a better job. The so called "Undercover" agents were anything but that & with each passing minute, the mediocrity in the execution just continued to pile. 

Despite a run time of only 77 minutes, the manner in which it was crafted & the irritation of  messing up a good thread, will test the patience of the audience. On the technical side, the crew has certainly done a decent job while in the performance department; none of them deserves special mention as they were average at best.

Verdict: It's really frustrating to see an engaging subject being treated in such a lackadaisical manner. In short, an opportunity woefully wasted!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare review: "Unlikely to garner much sitare!!!"

The IPL is back & CSK has ensured that Mumbai Indians maintained their record of losing the first match for eight straight years. Even as the cricketing sitare made their way back onto the field after a forced hiatus, Alankrita Shrivastava returned with her "Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare" on Netflix. Since her previous venture "Lipstick under the Burkha" had impressed coz of the treatment of its subject on patriarchy & misogyny, I was keen to check this out.

Dolly (Konkona Sen) led a happy life (atleast that's what people felt) with her husband, Amit (Aamir Bashir) & kids in Noida. Just like any other middle class household, they longed to make that plunge for a far comfortable lifestyle & one of their primary aims towards that was a flat in a supposedly upscale under construction skyscraper. Her cousin, Kajal (Bhumi Pednekar) recently moved in with Dolly's family in search of better career options. However, when Amit made an indecent move on her, she decided to arrangements for her own accommodation & joined an adult call centre which offered a better paycheck than her earlier job. The crux of the movie is about how both cousins discover themselves to the realities of life & embraces it in the hope of a better tomorrow. 

As in "Lipstick...", Alankrita has penned down a host of different topics here but essentially focuses on female liberalization. The basic premise that is showcased right throughout to facilitate towards the culmination of that topic is the sexual freedom that the various characters desires. There is nothing vulgar in the manner it has been shown & kudos for that goes to  Alankrita's execution of the scenes as well as the professionalism of the actors at her disposal. However, it does have its share of flaws as it doesnt quite arrest our attention & would have made more sense if it focused on just a few topics and conveyed it effectively. On the technical side, it looked fine be it the cinematography, music etc.

Both Konkona & Bhumi have done their parts aptly, with the former grabbing attention as usual with her natural performance. They were amply supported by Aamir Bashir, Amol Parashar, Vikrant Massey & even Neelima Azim who appears in a short sequence

Verdict: It isnt the type of movie that many would warm up to, however it wont hurt to give it a try. The topic it discusses isnt exactly unique as we have been witness to other similar stuff, however it does have its moments!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Sadak 2 review: "Mahesh Bhatt should have remained in cold storage!!!"

'Any publicity is good publicity', is the mantra that most in the film industry & by that yardstick, the Bhatt family would be happy as "Sadak 2" is one of the most mentioned movie in recent times.  With nepotism being one of the key topic of discussion ever since Sushant Singh passed away, this movie couldn't have come out at a worser time. The displeasure of the audience was evident right from the time its trailer was released making it the second most disliked YouTube video of all time. Things went further south when the movie was panned by one & all giving it the worst iMDB rating of 1. Hmm..is the movie really so bad or is it just herd mentality???

Ravi Kishore (Sanjay Dutt) had lost his wife & struggled to come to terms with it making him resort to ways to end his life. One such suicidal attempt was thwarted when Arya Desai (Alia Bhatt) comes to their travel agency for a pre-booked trip. Though Ravi initially refused to honour the commitment, he eventually relents when he realizes that it was the last booking that his late wife had confirmed on their behalf. However, it wasnt a pleasure trip for Arya but rather a journey that she believed would help her protect her father from the clutches of her step mom, Nandini (Nandini Bose) & Gyaan Prakash (Makarand Deshpande), a fake God man.

After a hiatus of almost two decades, Mahesh Bhatt decided to get back on the chair to call the shots based on a script that he had penned. There is no polite way to put it apart from say that the story was archaic & pedestrian. I seriously dont understand as to what made him believe that the audience was still stuck in the previous millennium. To add onto the misery, Sandeep Kurup did not deem it necessary to showcase his editing skills as it ran close to 2.5 h. If at all there is something worthwhile in the movie then it is the music done by a host of individuals  (Jeet Gannguli, Ankit Tiwari etc).

With such a mediocre story-line, it's hard for anyone to get inspired & give a worthwhile performance; which I believe might be the case here. Sanjay Dutt seemed fine though he looked as worn out as the audience. Alia Bhatt looked helpless (must be wondering how to say no to her dad, the next time he asks her to act in his movie) while the rest of the cast is not even worth mentioning. 

Verdict: You might be inspired by Ravi's suicidal tendencies watching the movie. Kindly remember me in your prayers as I saved two hours of your life!!!

Rating: 0.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kilometres & Kilometres review: "An Indo-American light hearted rom com!!!"

"How many kms from Washington DC to Miami beach? Kms & Kms"...there will hardly be any Malayali who doesn't known this iconic dialogue from "Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu". Even after 3 decades it's still impossible to stop smiling whenever that scene is discussed & that would be the reason why Jeo Baby decided to choose that as the title for his latest project. Unlike other Onam releases, this one released directly on Asianet & from the trailer itself it was evident that it was a travel based movie. So will the audience warm up to this Indo-American relation ???

Josemon (Tovino Thomas) is in his own words one among the numerous individuals who is like Mammootty in "Valsalyam". Based in Kottayam, he did a host of odd jobs to make ends meet & when things started to get over his head, he decides to sell his beloved bullet which belonged to his late father. However, an opportunity comes knocking in the form of Cathy (India Jarvis), an American who had come to visit India & hires the services of Josemon to take her around. Thus begins a journey of cultural & self discovery.

This is Jeo's first venture since the critically acclaimed "Kunju Daivam", which by the way if you guys haven't watched it, then definitely do so. He has penned the script with emphasis on humour & goodness in all the people that is presented. It isn't an intense as "NPCB" & caters to all sections of the audience. It sails by smoothly for most parts of the journey though the part from when they get stuck in Rajasthan starts to wear us down after a point of time. In essence, it does not offer anything new that we haven't seen before & Rehman Mohammad Ali along with Prejish Prakash could have edited atleast 15 minutes from its present form. Sinu Sidharth has picturised it really well while Sooraj Kurup's music was fine.

This is Tovino's first production venture & in terms of his performance, he has done a fine job as he endears to the audience with his emotions and humour. India has done her part aptly while Sidhartha Siva tickles the funny bone as a Malayali forced to settle in Rajasthan. As for the rest, Basil Joseph & Joju George make their presence felt in the limited screen space.

Verdict: There is no doubt that it is a light hearted version of NPCB but in terms of treatment & story, it does not  offer anything that we haven't seen or expected. It gives us a glimpse as to how people from different nations view each other be it their culture, customs & relationships. Essentially it is a feel good time pass flick!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Maniyarayile Asokan review: "This Asokan does have ksheenam!!!"

On the eve of Thiruvonam, Netflix treated the audience with the premiere of Shamzu Zayba's "Maniyarayile Asokan". After it being Netflix's first Malayalam movie release, it also made headlines as it was produced by Dulquer Salmaan's 'Wayfarer films'. The trailer certainly had a lively vibe about it & seemed liked the quintessential festival movie that would endear to the families. It reminded one of yesteryear hits, but somewhere down the line it failed to punch in the right notes. 

Asokan (Gregory Jacob) eagerly waited for his bride to welcome her into their married life. But even before they could break the ice, she stumps him with the query as to whether it was true that it was his second wedding & that he fathered twins. So was he indeed married??? Our protagonist is a village office employee who has been in the wedding market for quite a while. Unfortunately for him, none of the prospective proposals that he met didn't quite click as they had either issues with their appearance or his problematic horoscope. However, unknown to him there was a girl in the vicinity who dearly loved him. 

This is the directorial debut of Shamzu Zayba & he has certainly done a decent job in crafting it which was penned by Magesh Boji. However, Vineeth Krishnan's screenplay lets down the proceedings as it fails to add the required punch.It might not have been intentional but the manner in which Asokan was written clearly hinted that we were looking at a variant of Sreenivasan from "Vadakunokkiyanthram" & other such roles. There were quite a few sequences where the makers faltered be it the friend's back story though they gives us a glimpse of it that creates queries or the packing of way too many songs. The music by Sreehari K Nair & Sajad Kukku's visuals were fine while with regard of editing, they should have cut it short by atleast half an hour. 

Due to the manner in which Asokan was created, it's inevitable that Gregory will be compared with Sreenivasan. However, the former has done justice to the role along with an able supporting cast that consisted of Vijay Raghavan, Krishna Sankar & Shine Tom. Anupama was pretty mediocre, Sunny Wayne was cringe worthy & cameos by DQ & Anu Sithara though interesting failed to inspire proceedings. 

Verdict: There are certainly numerous sequences which will keep us amused but by the time, the movie gets over; we cant help thinking that the makers could have done a much better job. Essentially, it didnt have the content for a full fledged movie & hence it felt stretched significantly though it was less than 2 h. In short, give it a try but with reservations!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

C u soon review: "If you haven't watched it, c it soon!!!"

First & foremost, hope all of you had a wonderful Onam & managed to gorge a sumptuous sadya. Well I certainly did & am pretty sure that Onam 2020 will be remembered for years to come coz of the pandemic that has affected our lives significantly. The present scenario has made all of us adopt a new norm & even our film industry has been no different. Though the usual hype might not have been there but we still had three releases that hit the OTT platform in the past few days. Among them, the one that I was most excited about was Mahesh Narayanan's "C U Soon". The trailer was impressive & it was all the more awe inspiring as it was shot on iPhones.

Jimmy Kurien (Roshan Mathew) is a client executive working for a bank in UAE & in one of his searches for a companion in Tinder, he ends up meeting up with Anumol Sebastian (Darshana Rajendran). Both of them get fond of each other & within a span of few days, Jimmy proposes to her despite the fact that they never met each other. However, Anumol was skeptical about her family’s approval & circumstances that unfolded subsequently made it evident that there were more to her than met the eye.

After the excellent “Take off” in 2017, Mahesh Narayanan was back at the helm & takes on a host of other responsibilities as well like story, editing and virtual photography. I’m pretty sure that the last term would be something new for most of us (it certainly was for me). Apparently, the movie was shot by the artists themselves on iPhones & subsequently, Mahesh reworked on the visuals which according to one of his interviews took almost 2.5 months while the shooting was completed in 22 days. There is no doubt that format of the movie will create inevitable comparisons with “Searching”, “Unfriended ” etc, but this one is unique in its own way as Mahesh has chosen quite a few relevant issues & realistically weaved the tension and emotional content into it. With a running time of just 1 h 38 mins, this experimental venture does keep us engaged until the very end. Though many would have expected (or preferred) a bit more thriller element thrown into it.

There are three main characters in the movie and all of them have given fantastic performances. After having seen Darshana play supporting roles in a few flicks like “Virus”, “Koode” etc., it was a pleasant surprise to see her in the main role & she completely justified it with a brilliant act. Her emotional scenes were top notch & giving her ample support was Roshan who has gone from strength to strength which is evident from the offers that he has in his kitty. Whenever Fahad is part of a project, we can rest assured that he would be fantastic & it wasn’t any different this time as well. He portrays the character’s arrogant attitude as well the emotional side with equal finesse. As for the rest of the cast, Saiju Kurup, Mala Parvathy have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: Without a shadow of doubt, this is one of the best Malayalam movies in recent times. Despite the experimental nature & logistical constrains, I don’t think there is anything in the movie that appeared hindered coz of that. With a tense premise (don’t mistake it for a thriller) & emotional connect, it will endear to all the audience. In short, it’s a must watch!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards…Ben

Mee Raqsam review: "Captures the bond between father & daughter effectively!!!"

We as citizens of this great nation have always prided in our unity in diversity, be it for the languages, customs, cuisines etc. There have indeed been voices of discord over the centuries & history has been witness to numerous events that threatened to disintegrate this nation into oblivion. But time & again we prevailed & that was due to the ability of majority of people to look at each other as one of their own. However, there is still a significant number who rigorously adhere to their religious norms to the extent that they believe that even embracing art forms or customs of other religions is deemed an unpardonable sin. This is exactly what Baba Azmi has portrayed in his debut venture “Mee Raqsam”. Since the theme was interesting & the cast had Naseeruddhin Shah, I decided to check it out when it premiered on Zee5.

Set in Azamgarh’s Mijwan village, Salim (Danish Husain) is a tailor who had recently lost his wife. As expected, it created a void in his family but the impact was much more profound on their daughter, Mariyam (Aditi Subedi). However, she found solace in Bharatanatyam & seeing her enthusiasm for the art form, Salim enrolled her into the dance school in the neighborhood. But neither of them would have fathomed the turmoil that was going to befall on them from their community.

After a successful career as a cinematographer, Baba Azmi decided to try his hand in direction & that’s how “Mee Raqsam” was created. The movie is presented by his sister, Shabana Azmi and is a tribute to his father & renowned poet Kaifi Azmi and is shot in Mijwan which was the hometown of his father. Baba had penned the script as well & it focuses on the bond that a father & daughter share even on the face of adversity from all quarters. The screenplay by Safdar Mir & Husain Mir brings out the relationship between the father and daughter beautifully, but the enormity of the resistance that the father had to face from the community to give wings to his daughter’s wishes is not conveyed adequately to the audience. The other technical aspects were average at best.

Danish Husain has performed really well as he makes us empathize with his character. I really look forward to seeing his in more movies. Aditi Subedi has given an earnest performance & endears to the audience, though her dance skills weren’t exactly a strong suit. Naseeruddin Shah might have been there only for a few scenes but a veteran more than made his presence felt as the staunch guardian of his religion’s principles. As for the rest of the cast, Sharda Kaul (as her aunt) was effective while the others also did their parts aptly.

Verdict:  The movie did not garnered much attention for its rather low keel publicity & lack of major stars (though the credentials of the cast that lined up here was solid). It deals with a topic that has & will have relevance in her society for years to come. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards…Ben

Class of 83 review: "Would have been classier if the characters had more depth!!!"

Whenever we talk about 1983, the first image that comes into the mind of most Indians would be Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup at the balcony in Lords. As a matter of fact that has inspired quite a few film makers like Abrid Shine "1983" & Kabir Khan "83" to weave stories with cricket being the main central theme. Hence, when I heard about Atul Sabarwal's "Class of 83"; I presumed it must be about the game as well. However, it was a pleasant surprise that it was about the underworld & from the looks of it, it seemed pretty impressive. So will King Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment strike gold with Netflix the third time around after "Bard of Blood" & "Betaal" failed to rise up to the expectations???

Set in the early 1980s, the Cotton Mill Industry was barely managing to keep itself afloat as the nexus between the underworld and the politicians saw it as an opportunity to establish their real estate aspirations. Such an unholy relationship also existed between Maharashtra CM Manohar Patkar (Anup Soni) & the underworld don Kalsekar. However, Inspector Vijay Singh (Bobby Deol) was a constant thorn in their flesh, due to which he was removed from the field & asked to take up the position of Dean in the Police Training Academy at Nashik. Among his training cadets, there were quite a few who caught his eye & makde him wonder whether they could complete the job that he couldn't.

It's been quite a while since we had seen Atul Sabarwal don the director's cap with his previous venture being "Aurangzeb" in 2013 which featured our very own Prithviraj. His latest project is based on Abhijit Deshpande's script which was inspired from Hussain Zaidi's book 'The Class of 83: The Punishers of Mumbai Police'. Zaidi is a rather familiar name in the world of investigative journalism & quite a few of his books have already been made into movies like "Black Friday", "Shootout at Wadala", "Phantom" etc. So the combination of these individuals were expected to be a cracker as they are well versed with the topic of underworld. However, that wasn't how it panned out as it seemed like the makers were more concerned about having a short running time rather than properly flesh out the characters. The manner in which it is taken engages the audience be it the camaraderie, ego and even distrust between the friends; however as I said earlier, even though the subject seems engrossing we dont completely invest in it as it fleets by quickly. 

On the technical side, it is top notch as the attention to detail & the palette chosen throughout is in sync with the period and the mood of the movie. Kudos to Mario Poljac for the exquisite frames &Viju Shah for the apt soundtrack. It's been quite a while since we have seen Bobby Deol in a meaningful role and he has done justice to it, though I felt the brooding was way too monotonous and it required someone bit more skillful to effectively emote. If you ask me, Kay Kay would have been an ideal choice as we already saw how natural he was in the Hotstar webseries " Special Ops". As for the rest of the cast, all the new comers has done a fine job along with Anup Soni, Joy Sengupta & Vishwajeet Pradhan.

Verdict: Technically it's made pretty well & even the subject has the content to engage the audience. But the over eagerness to wrap up the story, meant they didnt bother to give space for any of the characters to develop. In short, surely a one time watch but for the makers it was a missed opportunity as it had the potential for much more!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben 

Khuda Hafiz review: "Earnest effort let down by an average story!!!"

It's been an eventful last couple of days whereby we celebrated the Independence Day, reminiscenced the career of Captain Cool & bid adieu to the music maestro Pandit Jasraj. In between, we also had a couple of movies releases among which Faruk Kabir’s “Khuda Hafiz” happened to be one of them. Inspired by true events, the story is set against the backdrop of the financial recession in 2008. It garnered quite a bit of attention when Vidyut Jammwal (apart from Kunal Khemu for “Lootcase”) wasn’t included among the actors for the virtual press meet about their movies that were lined up for release on Disney+Hotstar. With nepotism & influential bigwigs being a hotly debated topic in recent times, it would surely evoke a sense of satisfaction in Faruk & Vidyut if their movie can prove its worth. So did it manage to do that???

The Indian Embassy swung into action as it was informed that one of its citizen was detained by the authorities of the fictional Middle Eastern nation, Noman.  The detainee was Sameer (Vidyut Jammwal), a software engineer by profession who had married Nargis (Shivaleeka Oberoi) about a year back. It was around this time that the recession of 2008 had set in & just like many others they also lost their jobs. With none of their efforts to find a suitable job bearing fruit, they decide to apply to openings in the Middle East which eventually clicks. However, little realize that this chapter of their life could very well be their last together.

Faruk Kabir isn't a name that I am familiar with as I haven't watched his earlier creations such as "The Awakening" or "Allah Ke Banday". From the trailer, it was evident that it's about the search for a lost wife in a foreign land. He has also penned the script & it seemed like one that had potential (pretty much like "Taken") if it was executed properly with a credible screenplay. However, the scenes that unfolds in Noman just didnt quite have the impact apart from the action sequences. There is nothing engaging in the latter half that keeps us invested in this story as it doesn't offer anything new. On the technical side, Amar Mohile & Mithoon has given some soothing tracks while Jitan Harmeet Singh's visuals were fine.

There is no need to even discuss as to how brilliant Vidyut is when it comes to executing action scenes & over here as well, he was on song. However, it was refreshing to see him make an earnest effort to play a restrained character & though he struggled to make it convincing, kudos for trying something different. Sivaleeka was mediocre while Annu Kapoor did his part aptly. As for the rest of the cast, they were average at best.

Verdict: It does not belong the "Commando" series type of movie, though there is still adequate amount of actin sequences some of which like the one in the narrow alley are top notch. There was surely scope for this to be much more engaging but it stops well short of it coz of a pretty average screenplay. In short, commend the effort of Vidyut but the movie didnt work for me!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Gunjan Saxena-The Kargil Girl: "Doesnt soar as much as expected!!!"

As our nation celebrates its 74th Independence day, let's bow our heads in gratitude and humility to pay respects to the numerous faceless people who made this day possible. Though we gained freedom from the British Raj, we still faced challenges over the years in the form of conflict from our neighbors. However, our brave & selfless soldiers have constantly negated all those threats allowing us to live in peace. One such event happened to be the 1999 Kargil War where many of our brave warriors laid down their lives. Among them was IAF Pilot, Gunjan Saxena who was the first female pilot to be part of the war. On the lead up to this Independence Day, Sharan Sharma decided to pay homage to this brave officer in the form of a biography. But will Janhvi Kapoor be able to pull off the titular role with conviction???

Based in Lucknow, Gunjan Saxena (Janhvi Kapoor) harboured dreams of becoming a pilot right from her childhood dreams. Being a bright student, her mother Kriti (Ayesha Raza) & brother, Anshuman (Angad Bedi) were keen on her taking up a different profession as they firmly believed that her place wasn't meant to be in the cockpit. However, her father Anup (Pankaj Tripathi) who was an Army Officer supported his daughter's wishes & encouraged her to strive for her dreams. With the fees that is meant for a commercial pilot course beyond their capabilities, it seemed like Gunjan's dreams were over. But destiny had other plans.

After having plied his trade as an assistant director in "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", Sharan Sharma is making his directorial debut with this biography. He has scripted the story in the company of Nikhil Mehrotra who had credible movies to his credit such as "Dangal", "Chhichhore"etc. The movie works for most parts, however it fails to impart the desired impact after Gunjan makes it to the training academy. Interestingly, some of the scenes there reminded me of "Hidden Figures". It's a good thing that they chose to focus on the sexism and the gender based discrimination rather than an over dosage of nationalism. Though only a small portion of the Kargil War was picturised, it looked rather amateurish as a whole. Manush Nandan has done a reasonable job with the visuals while Marc Wolff's co-ordination in the helicopter sequences were pretty good. 

So it's time for the inevitable question, was Janhvi convincing as the protagonist? There is no doubt that she has done a good job for large parts as she was able to convey the vulnerability & nervousness of the character perfectly. However, the transformation that we expected to happen after she defied the odds was nowhere to be seen. In short, as the flight officer she definitely missed the mark according to me. The best performance belonged to Pankaj Tripathi who captures our attention with his expressions that spoke volumes without having to mouth dialogues. As for the rest, Angad Bedi started off well but was rather wooden later on, Vineet Kumar had a one dimensional role, Ayesh Raza was wasted while Manav Vij was good.

Verdict: On this Independence Day, it's surely an engaging watch though it definitely didn't soar as much as expected. With just a couple of movies under her belt, it would be unfair to slam Janhvi but the fact remains that she didnt quite have the caliber to pull off the IAF part. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Pareeksha review: "Adil's classy performance makes it an endearing watch!!!"

A couple of days back, we had the Government roll out the National Educational Policy 2020 in an attempt to bring a holistic change to the educational system in our country. However, whether they will be achieve it depends on the will and the manner in which it will be implemented. The Right to Education came into effect in our nation about ten years back & it's a work still in progress, though not quite to the level that we would have liked. One of it's major obstacle is the impact that the  economic strata that a person belongs to has on the opportunities to quality education. This is the premise of Prakash Jha's "Pareeksha" which was released on ZEE5 last week. So did Jha remain true to the ground reality or was it an over dosage of filmy melodrama???

Just like many others who resiliently faced the challenges that life threw at them on a daily basis, Bucchi (Adil Hussain) also harboured hopes of a better future for his son, Bulbul (Shubham Jha), who was an excellent student & performed admirably in Govt school. Bucchi was a rickshaw puller while his wife, Radhika (Priyanka Bose) shared the responsibilities by working in a factory nearby. He regularly ferried children from affluent households in the locality to the upscale CBSE school, where he was keen to get Bulbul admitted as he believed that was the gateway to a better life. But for a family that struggled to make ends meet, it seemed like a distant dream. So will their meager means be able to handle the hefty educational fees???

It's been quite a while since we had an interesting movie from Prakash Jha as the last few were high on star value but lacked content. With his latest venture, it would be fair to say that he has reclaimed some of his vintage form. He has scripted a hard hitting realistic tale that shows that people belonging to the lower economic strata cant afford to think of acquiring equal opportunities even in the educational sector though it is a right that is enshrined in the Constitution. The equation that the close knit family share with each other is an absolute delight & the hardships that the parents endure for their son's education does tug at our heart cords. Even when the father resorts to wrong doings, it would still be hard for the audience not to root for him. However, the sequences that involves the happenings at school was rather average. On the technical side, there is nothing that deserves special mention.

Adil was brilliant as Bucchi as his expressions and apologetic body language was spot on. We are left to ponder as to how grossly we have utilized this talent actor. Let's hope that he gets roles worth his caliber & keeping him adequate support was an equally praise act from Priyanka. Sanjay Suri has done a fine job as he played a small yet crucial role as SP Kailash Anand which was modeled after IPS Officer Abhyanand, who taught children from poor financial backgrounds. Shubham also did his part aptly. 

Verdict: It's a typ's  of movie that is unlikely to capture eyeballs unless people are told about it as it had a rather low keel release even by OTT standards. It's definitely worth a watch & with a running time of just 1 h 42 mins, it doesn't test our patience  with unnecessary melodrama. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Raat Akeli Hai review: "Desi version of Knives Out but much more gripping!!!"

With the cinema theatres still shut down, OTT platforms have been the primary source of entertainment for movie aficionados. Apart from the numerous web series that all of us have been gorging on, some movies have also been released on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar etc. The previous weekend saw the release of "Raat Akeli Hai" on Netflix & yet again Radhika Apte features in it. This has already spawned trolls, however the trailer promised it to be a gritty murder mystery.

Thakur Raghubeer Singh (Khalid Tyabji), an influential patriarch from an affluent background was found murdered on the night of his wedding to his mistress, Radha (Radhika Apte). Incidentally, his wife was also murdered along with their driver five years earlier. The case was entrusted to Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) & it soon dawned upon him that each and every member of the khandan was not beyond suspicion as they had more than ample shades of grey to their character. So who had eliminated Thakur in such a ghastly manner & were both the murders interconnected???

This is the debut venture of Honey Trehan & he has opted to create a dark movie which isnt exactly unfamiliar territory for him as he has worked extensively with Vishal Bharadwaj. Along with Smita Singh, who had scripted this slow burning engaging whodunnit they give us a full blown picture of a dysfunctional family where the males reigns supreme while the females are relegated to meek onlookers who remains helpless on the face of injustice meted out to them, Even the protagonist harbors a superiority attitude against the women & is opinionated on the basis of their attire as well. Honey tries to infuse humour into the proceedings through the interaction between Ila Arun & Nawazuddhin and does tickle the funny bone at times in an otherwise sober movie. Most of the scenes happen in the dark & Pankaj Kumar captures those visuals impressively while Sneha Khanwalkar's music was average and Sreekar Prasad could have made it crisper. 

Nawazuddin nails his role & though it wasn't challenging by his standards, he manages to capture the swag and stubbornness of the character aptly. There is hardly any Indian production on Netflix that does not feature Radhika Apte and we can't blame them for that since she effectively conveyed the frustration & anger that Radha had for her circumstances without having to mouth dialogues. Being a casting director, Honey has a keen eye for talent & it was evident in his choice of artists be it Aditya Srivastva, Ila Arun, Tigmanshu Dhulia etc, all of whom have done their parts well. 

Verdict: Though not the remake of "Knives Out", the manner in which the story is constructed with each character being a possible suspect gives us that impression. It is gripping and manages to capture our attention, though I felt that it had the potential to be much more damdaar. Anywaz do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben