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