Bachchan Pandey: "Apart from the name, there is hardly anything interesting!!!"

Close to a decade back, Karthick Subbaraj's "Jigarthanda" made him one of the much sought after directors among the fresh crop. So when Farhad Samji decided to remake the movie as "Bachchan Pandey"; there was obviously a bit of skepticism as to whether he would be able to seamlessly infuse the comedy & craziness that Karthick managed with elan. Despite the presence of Akshay Kumar, who is a pro when it comes to this kind of genre; it failed to create much of an impact at the box office even after more than a week of its release. 

In the quest to become a film maker, Myra (Kriti Sanon) was tasked to come up with a compelling script that would impress her producer. After quite a bit of research, she decided to pen the script on the dreaded gangster, Bachchan Pandey (Akki). Hoping to learn more about the life about the protagonist, she travels to Baagwa & seeks the help of her friend Vishu (Arshad Warsi), who reluctantly agrees when she tells him that she has a role for him in the movie. The rest of the movie is basically about Bachchan & whether he will buy in to Myra's idea of making a movie based on him.

Based on the track record of Farhad, it's pretty evident that he likes to dabble with comedy with projects like "Housefull 3 & 4" & obviously Akki has featured in all his previous directorial ventures. Though it is a remake, it just failed to recreate the fun element & comes across as rather pedestrian. Most of the jokes fails to create any laughs & at drags on and on with hardly any respite. None of the technical aspects deserve any mention while when it comes to performances we are left flabbergasted as to why would talented artists like Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjay Mishra & Seems Biswas would waste their time on such worthless projects. Akki does try to salvage the sinking ship but there is nothing much he can do about it even with the support of Kriti & Arshad.

Verdict: Dont even bother!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben

RRR: "Riveting action, Resplendent frames & Rousing entertainer!!!"

After a wait of close to two years, Rajamouli's "RRR" has finally hit the screens & taken on the theatres by storm. Even prior to the release itself, the movie have made big bucks courtesy of the sale of its various rights & hence whatever happens from now, it's a matter of whether it can reach the lofty benchmarks set by the Baahubali series. Well as most of us are aware, the protagonists are named after real life revolutionaries though the story that Rajamouli has tried to convey is completely fictional. Actually it would be more appropriate to term it as fantastical as the action sequences are mind boggling & the characters have superhuman strength and abilities. 

Set in the 1920s, General Scott (Ray Stevenson) & his Lady (Alison Doody) forcefully take a Gond tribal girl from her family to serve as a source of amusement for the latter. Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR), a prominent member of the tribe vows to bring her back, though news of his valour had also reached the ears of the Governor even before he had set his plan in motion. The British Empire entrust the task of capturing Bheem on Rama Raju (Ram Charan), one of the most daring & bravest officers in the force. The crux of the movie is basically the bromance and the clash of these titans. 

Just as it was in majority of his previous ventures, the script has been penned by K V Vijayendra Prasad & it was a rather simple predictable revenge drama that we have come across in many other flicks. But what makes this movie unique is obviously the craftsmanship of Rajamouli. Well we already know the creative genius that he is & his sensational imagination and we get to see more of that be it the intro scenes of the protagonists, their mid air meeting, interval block etc. So naturally this brings us to the important question as to whether we as Malayalis have double standards especially since the sequences are audacious & outlandish. Well in a way we do have for sure, but it all depends on how well such sequences are executed & Rajamouli has the ability to make such sequences believable and enjoyable. 

On the technical side, pretty much everything was top notch such as Nick Powell's excellent action choreography, Senthilkumar's stunning visuals, Sabu Cyril's art direction & Keeravani's music. Even though it is a shade above 3 h, it didn't feel tedious, though the VFX was surprisingly ordinary at times. Coming to performances, both Ram Charan & Jr NTR were impressive in all facets & it is definitely an achievement for the former especially he is known for wooden expressions at times. Though both are given equal importance, I felt Ram Charan was maybe a step ahead in the manner it panned out. As for the rest of the cast, both Ray, Alison & Olivia Morris (as Jennifer) did their parts aptly, Ajay Devgn had an extended cameo in which he was good, Alia Bhat & Shriya Saran weren't required (the former was obviously a marketing strategy for the Northern belt) while Samuthirakini was average.

Verdict: Predictable drama but a wholesome theatrical experience. I saw it in 2D but I heard that 3D was also good, so it is upto what you would like. In short, do watch it & definitely in theatres!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Lalitham Sundaram: "Simplistic & rather bland!!!"

 Apart from "Salute", there was one more major release last weekend in the form of Madhu Warrier's "Lalitham Sundaram". They had also opted for the OTT platform & hence it was streamed on Disney Plus Hotstar. The vibrant colours & the ice cream font used seemed to convey that they have packaged it in a fun manner & even the trailer kind of suggested the same. With a talented cast in the frame, it was upto Madhu to ensure that his directorial debut will reap rich dividends for his sister's investment. It certainly lived upto its name but partially.

Sunny (Biju Menon), Annie (Manju Warrier) & Jerry (Anu Mohan) are siblings who haven't been in the best of relations for quite a while. On the behest of their father (Raghunath Paleri), the trio decide to visit him on the occasion of their mother's death anniversary (Zarina Wahab). Even as both Annie & Jerry were well off in their respective careers, Sunny was going through a horrid time both personally & professionally.  As expected, tension spills over between the siblings over past issues & it seemed as if even time hadn't healed their wounds. 

As a director, it would be fair to say that Madhu has done a decent job in the manner the movie was executed, be it in the casting or the technical aspects. However, Pramod Mohan's script left a lot to be desired as it was way too simplistic with not much content to convey. The emotional sequences don't quite connect with the audience & even the so-called issues were trivial. As a matter of fact, the basic template was similar to that of "Kapoor & Sons" in more ways than one. Bijibal's music was fine while the visuals captured by P Sukumar & Gautham Shankar were colourful & vibrant. 

With a talented cast on board, it's almost a given all of them will do a fine job. Biju Menon was impressive as always with Saiju Kurup proving himself to be a reliable performer with each passing movie. Manu was fine while Sudheesh is turning out to be a powerhouse performer even with limited screen space. The rest of the cast such as Anu Mohan, Deepti etc have all done their parts aptly.

Verdict: It's a decent one time watch with a story which was way too simplistic & hardly any substantial content to keep the audience engaged. In short, you can give it a try!!!

Rating : 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Salute: "Salute to the makers for an engaging unorthodox investigative drama!!!"

One of the prime news that grabbed headlines last week was the decision taken by the Kerala Exhibitors Union to ban DQ & his production house Wayfarer Films. Apparently his latest venture, "Salute" helmed by Rosshan Andrrews opted for an OTT release instead of the theatres. After the humongous success of "Kurup", the exhibitors would have expected a similar bumper opening for "Salute" considering the impressive credentials of the cast & crew. Hence when it was released on Sony Liv last Thursday, I presume it would have naturally irked them but that didnt dampen our spirits after all the trailer gave the impression of it being an unconventional police drama. 

SI Aravind Karunakaran (DQ) has been on long leave after being haunted by a case where he had to indulge in unethical practices due to pressure from higher authorities & frame a supposedly innocent individual for a twin murder. His attempt to become a whistleblower was constantly thwarted by people in the department itself under instructions from his own brother, DySP Ajith Karunakaran (Manoj K Jayan). Even otherwise, Aravind had no solid evidence that could possibly lead him to the faceless & elusive murderer. So seemed like it was a dead end after all or was it???

It's been a while since we had a movie from the Rosshan Anddrews stable with the last one being "Prathi Poovankozhi" in 2019. Whenever he had joined hands with Bobby-Sanjay, the trio have more often than not have clicked at the box office & hence there were similar expectations this time around as well. The manner in which the story slowly builds up was praise worthy as it does not resort to our conventional filmy police drama & manages to convincingly convey to the audience the emotional turmoil that the protagonist goes through. But the same cant be said about the latter half as I would have liked a much more intellectual take on the case rather than clues or whereabouts revealed by chance or luck. Similarly, I didnt feel that the relation dynamics between DQ & Manoj K Jayan quite worked out, as it seemed that Rosshan was confused as to how to treat it. Another segment that stood out like a sore thumb were the family scenes which barely gelled & the sequence where a female complains about being cheated by her boyfriend, in which both the execution and the performances were mediocre. 

On the technical side, pretty much all the aspects were fine be it Jakes Bejoy's BGM which elevated the suspense/thriller mood or Aslam Purayil's visuals. Coming to performances, DQ has done justice to his role who is emotionally disturbed early on & picks himself up later on in search of redemption. The rest of the cast such as Manoj K Jayan, Binnu Pappan, Alencier, Saikumar, Shaheen Siddique etc. have done their parts aptly. None of the female artists had a commendable role & no idea why Diana Penty was even casted. 

Verdict:  In a way, it seemed like a role reversal for DQ from "Kurup" & that was interesting. On the whole, the movie keeps the audience engrossed because of its unconventional nature. There was scope for making it more thrilling & suspenseful. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Radhe Shyam: "No need for a palmist to predict Prabhas's career, if his choice continues like this!!!"

The Telugu film industry is known for its larger than life type of movies with heroes that can bash an entire battalion as easily as swatting a fly. However, many of us still loved watching them & this explains the reason for the popularity of stars like Allu Arjun , Chiranjeevi etc. Another person who has steadily built a fan base for himself is Prabhas  courtesy of the Baahubali series. Incidentally, I started watching his flicks after the magnum opus & though "Saaho" was a disappointment, Radha Krishna Kumar's "Radhe Shyam" still provided hope. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a test of our patience.

The story unfolds in the 1970s where Vikramadityan (Prabhas) is a world renowned palmist & known as the 'Einstein of Palmistry'. Apparently, he believed that he could never be in a serious romantic relationship as he didn't have a love line. But when he met Prerna (Pooja Hegde), it felt that there could be more to destiny than just what the lines in the palm said. 

Since I havent watched Radha Krishna's debut venture "Jil", I had no prior expectations about his caliber. With regard to this particular project, it is lavishly mounted & the frames were elegant & pristine for which Manoj Paramahamsa deserves praise while S Thaman's music was ok. But what's the point of all this, if the basic story as such was preposterous to say the least. It didnt make any sense (at least to me) & made me question why Prabhas would even agree to do something of this sort. It meanders along at a snail's pace for close to 140 minutes without adding anything worthwhile that would attract our attention.

Well there is previous little that the artists can do if the story is so weak & hence with the content provided, Prabhas, Pooja & Satyaraj did their parts ok. There were a host of other artists who barely had any relevance to the story such as Jayaram, Jagapathi Babu & Kunaal Roy Kapoor and some others such as Bhagyasree, Murali Sharma etc who were there I guess to complete the quorum.

Verdict: The addition of "Shyam" to the title might have made it marginally better than Salman's "Radhe". If Prabhas doesn't make some smart choices going forward, he will surely squander the good will that he garnered from Baahubali. In short, dont bother!!!

Rating: 1/5

Regards...Ben 

Pada: "Gripping tale of the fight for the oppressed!!!"

With half the opposition back in the pavilion, Team India is closing in on a clean sweep of the series against the Lankans at the Chinnaswamy stadium. As expected, the first two days of the test match was sold out & I incidentally belonged to the crowd that had failed to get their hands on a ticket. Well that paved the path for checking out K M Kamal's "Pada" that had also released in the Garden City over the weekend. Ever since the trailer was social media, I have been eagerly looking forward to checking it out since the subject it handled & the execution of it along with an array of talented artists lined up gave ample proof that it was going to be a smacking one. 

In 1996, four members of the 'Ayyankali Pada' decided to draw regional and national attention to the apathetic attitude of the state machinery to the cause of the tribal over the past few decades. Their plan was to keep the Palakkad Collector Dange (Arjun Radhakrishnan) as hostage in his official chamber & to continue the siege until the State Government withdrew the amendments made to the Kerala Scheduled Tribes Act 1975. The movie is about how these four men went about their plan, how the bureaucrats and the police force handled the crisis and the consequences that the Pada and the people who empathised with them had to face at the end of it.

About a decade back, Kamal made his foray into direction with "ID" which had premiered at the Busan International Film Festival. It was widely appreciated & hence the announcement of a project that dealt with a subject that shook Kerala politics at that point of time grabbed attention. The hardships of tribals have never ceased & even to this day, the topic that the movie talks about is relevant. Kamal does not try to take any cinematic liberties & keeps it as organic as possible which is exactly the reason why we are engaged in it until the very end despite knowing the climax. Without investing too much time into each individual character's backstory, he still manages to give the audience a fair idea about each member of the pada. If at all a drawback has to be said, then it is in the inclusion of way too artists but nothing much significant to do such as Shine Tom, Sudheer Karamana etc.

Kudos to Kamal also for his spot on choice of artists as each one of them be it Vinayakan, Chackochan, Joju George & Dileesh Pothan have done utmost justice to their roles. Keeping up with these fine artists is no mean task & Arjun Radhakarishnan has done just that with a credible performance (he was good in   "Jhund" as well, the review of which I intend to post). In addition to that, Prakash Raj, Indrans, Vettukili Prakash etc have all been impressive. On the technical side, Vishnu Vijay's BGM was in sync with the mood while Sameer Thahir's visuals as always was fantastic.

Verdict: Undoubtedly one of the finest movies that have come out in recent times. In short, a must watch!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Maaran: "Even the cast & crew seemed disinterested as the audience!!!"

Have you watched movies where you get the impression that even the people associated with it seemed as disinterested as we are? Well I certainly felt that last night when I watched Karthick Naren's "Maaran" last night on Disney+ Hotstar. Though the trailer didn't seem out of the ordinary, I still harboured hopes after all it had Dhanush in the lead with Karthick calling the shots who had impressed one & all with his debut venture "Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru". So how did they get it so wrong this time around???

Maaran (Dhanush) had lost his father when he was young as the latter was murdered for his honest investigative journalism. On the same day, his mother also breathed her last during delivery & he was left to shoulder the responsibilities of taking care of his sister. With time, he also chose the same career path as his father & faced similar problems both professionally & personally. 

Just like his previous ventures, Karthick had penned the script for this as well with the screenplay drafted with the help of Suhas, Sharfu & Vivek. But without a shadow of doubt, this is his most lazy script to date as it turned out to be uninspiring & outdated. Anyone who watches the movie for the first 10-15 mins would have more or less guessed as to what lies in store in the next 120 mins. He does tries to spring a surprise (for the sake of it) over the course of the movie, but it failed to infuse any thrills or suspense. None of the technical aspects deserves mention as it was average at best.

Was Dhanush forced to act in this movie? Well, I have no clue but I haven't seen him perform in a project as disinterested as this since maybe "Kamath & Kamath". It seemed like he was a robot going through the motions. Smruthi Venkat as Shwetha & Krishnakumar as Arjun gave earnest performances while artists like Samuthirakani & Malavika Mohan were pathetic. 

Verdict: Well the removal of i from "Maari" & replacing it with 'a' or 'an' did not produce a similar effect as evidenced by "Maara" & "Maaran". Undoubtedly one of the most unengaging movie that I have watched in recent times!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben

Etharkkum Thunindhavan: "Daredevilry only in name not in execution of the content!!!"

After a forced hiatus of more than a couple of years, Suriya finally has a theatrical release courtesy of Pandiraj's "Etharkkum Thunindhavan". However, in the interim period he had OTT releases like "Soorarai Pootru" & "Jai Bhim" which were praise worthy projects. His latest is based on the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case & from the look of the trailer, it  seemed to be a mix of masala & intense emotional drama. For some reason, it didn't quite give me vibe of it being something that would be unique; though with Pandiraj calling the shots there was still some lingering hope. 

Kannabiran (Suriya) had committed a series of seven murders & had called on the forces to surrender. But how did a upright lawyer & responsible citizen become a murderer? Apparently, he hailed from Thennaadu & in recent times, many girls had been murdered and family suicides were reported from his village and the surrounding region. Kannabiran decided to dig up the truth behind these incidents & uncovered a network that was much more extensive and powerful than what he had expected. 

Pandiraj burst into the scene with "Pasanga" which achieved both regional & national acclaim. However, since then he hasn't consistently lived upto those expectations except for a couple of projects. In his latest venture, he has chosen to pen an incident that shook the region & added mass elements to it. The basic thread is about emphasizing the importance of the female gender, the threats they face & victimization for no fault of theirs. It is relevant and in sync with the times, but the execution was pretty ordinary and does not offer anything that would make the audience sit up & take notice. As for the technical aspects, they are average at best.

Though the screenplay might be trite, there is no doubting the effort and sincerity that Suriya has brought to the character. The same also applies to Satyaraj & Saranya Ponvannan while Priyanka Mohan as Aadhini was ok. As for the antagonist, Vinay Rai was average & one of the main reason for that is the poorly etched character sketch.

Verdict: Suriya's earnest performance is the only saving grace in an otherwise average flick that offers a relevant thread but a pretty worn out screenplay that we have come across in other flicks!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Bheeshma Parvam review: "Amal's exceptional film making skills & solid performances elevates a predictable drama!!!"

Over the years our Malayalam film industry has gone through a sea of change which was inevitable especially when you have an audience that is pretty demanding. In this period, we have been blessed with a host of talented film makers who left their mark in the industry through their celluloid creations such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aravindan, Padmarajan etc. One such director that has carved a niche for himself is Amal Neerad who barged into the industry with "Big B" in 2007, introducing us to a style of film making that was alien to our industry until then. Even now we talk about Mammookka's portrayal of Bilal with fondness & hence when it was announced that the duo was collaborating yet again after 14 years, the excitement just went through the roof. Interestingly, they joined hands for "Bilal" but as that project was held up by the Covid restrictions they decided to go ahead with "Bheeshma Parvam" & boy!!! that turned out to be a goose bump evoking theatrical experience. 

Michael (Mammookka) is the head of the Anjootikkaran family who literally ran a parallel justice system giving hope to anyone who came to his doorstep for help. He was a saviour for the people who revered & respected him though there were quite a few within his own family who seethed with anger and jealousy at his power and command. The audience are introduced to all these equations within the first 15 minutes & it's pretty evident as to in which direction the story is headed for. 

Well it's no secret that the movie has been inspired from Mario Puzo's 'Godfather' & the epic 'Mahabharatham' as Amal introduces us to the sequence straight out from the former which is mounted as it was in RGV's "Sarkar".  If the story is so predictable, then what's the big deal? Well that's where Amal exhibited his skills as a film maker as he ensured along with Devadath Shaji that each of the plethora of artists that had lined up had a credible character arc. Each one of them were given space to perform & does have something worthwhile to add to the story rather than merely being pawns to glorify or get bashed up by Michael. This keeps us engaged until the end though we can fairly guess with confidence as to what fate might befall on most of the characters by the time the dust settles.

Along with Amal, another person who deserves a chunk of the praise for the enthralling experience is Sushin Shyam's thumping BGM. It was undoubtedly the finest that I had come across in quite a while though in a couple of segments I felt that it kind of drowned the dialogues. Anend C Chandra's visuals were impressive & the typical slo-mo shots characteristic of Amal's was very much in place. Kudos to pretty much everyone on the technical side be it the art dept (their eye for detail was spot on), costumes, the slick editing & stunt choreography. 

It was heartening to see Mammookka in a role that gave him the chance to perform & showcase his stylish avatar. He was brilliant as Michael in all aspects & hence I dont think it is even required for me to write about it. As mentioned earlier, this is one of those unusual movies where pretty much all the artists had the opportunity to exhibit their skills & almost all of them have done justice to it. If I have to name a few, Shine Tom & Soubin Shahir rocked with others like Sreenath Bhasi, Sudev, etc doing their parts equally well. A special shout out to Nedumudi Venu & KPAC Lalitha both of whom made us realize as to how much we will miss them moving forward.

Verdict: A typical predictable drama that we have been witness to many times in the past but still made engaging courtesy of its making & performances. So what are you waiting for, jaaaooo to the theatres!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Gangubai Kathiawadi review: "Alia dazzles with one of her best performances to date!!!"

The last couple of years have seen Bollywood coming up with many female oriented movies which might not have exactly set the box office on fire, but made sure that the producers still had their smiles. The latest to join that list is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Gangubai Kathiawadi" that had Alia Bhat playing the titular character. Apart from the fact it is Bhansali's movie which obviously doesn't require additional publicity, Kangana Ranaut unintentionally made sure that it grabbed headlines as she dismissed it with disdain for reasons best known to her. Anyway she was made to eat humble pie & the box office numbers has been impressive until now.

Set in the 1960s, Gangubai Kathiawadi (Alia Bhatt) was a powerful brothel madame in Kamathipura who fought for the rights of sex workers in the region. It was not something that she had even imagined after all she was born into an affluent family & aspired to become an actress. But fate had other plans as she was forced into prostitution when her lover sold her off to a brothel. Things took a turn when Rahim Lala (Ajay Devgn), a feared don became her sworn brother which facilitated her to assume a position of power that she used to good effect for the welfare of the people in the locality.

It's been quite a while since we had a movie from Bhansali with his last directorial venture being "Padmaavat" in 2018, which is quite understandable considering the scale at which he mounts each of his projects. Based on S Hussain Zaidi's book 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai', it is inspired from the life of Gangubai Harjivandas with the screenplay penned by Bhansali & Utkarshini Vashishtha. From a technical point of view, it is praise worthy on all departments be it Sudeep Chatterjee's visuals, Sanchit & Ankit Balhara's score, art & choreography. There was an intentional attempt to not look into the tough lives these ladies led & hence it poses many questions as to how Gangubai handled all the challenges that she would have faced. In effect, it was a superficial take on the lives of the sex workers which seems reasonable from a film makers point of view, but I believe it would have been much more impactful if a more gritty approach was adopted. Another thing that I felt they could have done better was Raziabai's character which though introduced in an impactful manner was subsequently relegated to the background. 

On the performance, Alia was absolutely brilliant & I would be really surprised if she doesnt sweep all the awards. The only portion where she seemed rather artificial was in the initial segment after which she imbibed the character with ease be it in her body language, expressions that conveyed the myriad of emotions & dialogue delivery. There were few others who were spot on as well such as Vijay Raaz (as Raziabai, really wish this character had more screen space), Indira Tiwari (as Kamli), Shantanu Maheshwari (as Afsaan), Ajay Devgn (in an extended cameo) & Jim Sarbh as the journalist.

Verdict: It is no surprise that the movie has done so well & it will be just a matter of time before it would have earned the tag of being a 'hit/superhit'. In terms of the screenplay, as mentioned earlier I felt a bit more deeper look into the lives of these people was required. Anyway Alia was absolutely brilliant & that is more than ample reason to watch this flick!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Valimai review: "Apart from the praise worthy stunts, the story as such lacks valimai!!!"

About a year back when Team India locked horns with England for the second test in Chennai, apart from his superlative exploits on the field Moeen Ali was asked by an enthusiastic Thala fan about the update on "Valimai". Obviously he was perplexed, but it just goes to show the influence that Thala has on the public despite his scant public appearances. Anyway after a prolonged silence from the makers, H Vinoth's "Valimai" finally hit the screens last week amid much hype & fanfare. Well it certainly had its moments though overall it could have been far better. 

Chennai was in the grip of a gang of bikers who had made life a living hell for the citizens of this metropolitan city with the wave of crimes that they indulged in. Even the Police were at their wit's end & as the last roll of the dice the Chief decides to bring in the super cop ACP Arjun Kumar (Ajith). As expected, Arjun swings into action in quick time & made significant inroads into the crime network with the use of brawn & brains. However, Satan's Slaves as the gang was called had more aces up their sleeve. 

Vinoth is a name that needs no introduction courtesy of his impressive ventures such as "Sathuranga Vetta" & "Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru". This was his second collaboration with Thala after "Nerkonda Paarvai" which was the remake of "Pink". However, the same quality of story telling was definitely lacking from his present celluloid creation as it just doesn't offer anything fresh that we are not accustomed to. The basic thread as such held promise about how the unemployed youth was sucked into the world of crime, their modus operandi, clash of ideologies, dark web & cults. But that expectation gets evaporated pretty soon as none of it are quite explored apart from a superficial mention. Just like most of Ajith's other movies, there is emphasis on the emotional content but that failed to provide any connect & drags the proceedings. Another aspect that I found surprising & hilarious was the lack of continuity in Thala's appearance as his hair colour kept changing more than a couple of times. At the same time, there are many aspects which deserves appreciation such as Dhilip Subbarayan for his impressive stunt choreography, Nirav Shah's visuals & Ghibran's BGM.

It is an out & out Thala show, though I felt his character just didn't have the impact that was expected from a performer of his charisma. He certainly fitted the bill of an intelligent cop, however the writing lacked the depth to make it much more engaging for the audience. As for the rest of the cast, Kartikeya Gummakonda (as Naren) failed to evoke dread, Bani was wasted while Huma Qureshi & Dinesh Prabhakar were ok. 

Verdict: As per the latest box office reports, the movie has already minted a gross of close to 165 C world wide. This is undoubtedly humongous numbers & reiterates Thala's acceptance among the public. However, from a personal point of view; Vinoth's script wasn't quite fleshed out as expected considering it had a credible thread. In short, it could have been far better!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Gehraiyaan review: "Interesting portrayal of complex relationships!!!"

A fortnight back, Shakun Batra's "Gehraiyaan" was released on Amazon Prime & more often than not, I would have checked it out on the day it had released. However, due to work commitments I had missed out on it at that point of time. Later on, the rather mixed reviews that I came across didn't quite motivate me to check it out until this weekend. Apparently, I had to travel to my hometown & in order to kill time on the bus, I decided to give it a try. To be frank, I was pleasantly surprised as it was much better than what I had expected. 

Alisha (Deepika Padukone) was a yoga instructor who was in a live in relationship with her boyfriend, Karan (Dhairya Karwa). Both her personal & professional life weren't exactly smooth sailing as she was finding it hard to make ends meet since Karan was unemployed which put a strain on their relation. It was at this juncture that her cousin Tia (Ananya Panday) reached out to her ages and invited them over to her beach house to introduce them to her fiancé Zain (Siddhant Chaturvedi). It was beginning of a change that none expected as Alisha & Zain engaged in a clandestine romance that threatened to wreck everything. 

This is Shakun Batra's third directorial venture after "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu" & "Kapoor & Sons", and as in his previous ventures he has penned the script for this as well though with the company of Ayesha Devitre, Sumit Roy & Yash Sahai. It certainly seems inspired from Woody Allen's "Match Point" & looks into the complexities of relationships without merely restricting itself to a flick with superficial displays of love/lust. The intricacies of various relations and to what extent it pushes people to do the right or wrong was captured pretty well though I felt the climax could have been far better. All the technical aspects were impressive be it Kaushal Shah's frames, Savera Mehta & Kabeer Kathpalia's music and the art/costume designs. 

Deepika was fantastic as Alisha as she effortlessly portrayed the various emotions that her character goes through. Equally impressive was Zain while Ananya's performance was a pleasant surprise and clearly showed that she certainly has the talent. Dhairya was ok while Naseeruddin Shah & Rajat Kapoor were commendable as expected.

Verdict: It's a type of movie that wont appeal to many people & hence it isnt surprising as to why there is a host of mixed reviews. Personally, I did enjoy as the screenplay was credible and performances were impressive. If at all there is one aspect that could have been better is the run time and it does drag quite a bit in the latter half. In short, give it a try if you dont mind watching a slow boiler on relationships!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben