Aarakshan review: "No need to reserve your seats for this one!!!"

Prakash Jha is one of those directors whose films are always eagerly awaited by the public as they always tend to touch upon socio-political issues be it "Gangaajal", "Apaharan", "Rajneeti" etc. So this time around, he has decided to touch upon the topic of reservation system. This is definitely a sensitive issue as each & every individual as their own take on the matter, with some supporting it while some others believing it's robbing many of the meritorious students of their opportunities. Since this isnt a platform to debate on it, I would refrain from making my comments. Anywaz, with a power packed star cast in the form of Big B, Saif & Manoj Bajpayee to add to the hype already created, it remains to be seen whether this will deliver at the box office???

Just as the title states, the film unfolds with Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) being denied opportunity to work in a college just because he is from a Dalit background inspite of having certificates which speaks volumes of his academic excellence. Deepak is the favourite student of the renowned Professor & Prinicipal of the esteemed Shakuntala Mahavidyalaya, Prabhakar Anand (Big B). Prabhakar Anand was a personality of impeccable character & principles, who believed that education should be granted to one & all, rather than commercializing & reserving it as the right of the rich & mighty. This was however against the interests of the Vice Principal, Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpayee), who was heading numerous coaching classes with the support of the politicos. It's around this time that the Supreme Court ordered the implementation of the Mandal Commission, which increased the reservation quota of the ST & OBCs by 27%. This sets off a furore among the students which eventually leads to Prabhakar Anand resigning his post. What then follows is the face-off between the idealistic Prabhakar & the scheming Mithilesh!!!

Jha is assisted in the screenplay by Anjum Rajabali, which goes a long way in building up an impressive first half. The subject matter is tackled expertly with frictions creating cracks in relationships being expressed effectively with some hard hitting dialogues by Saif & the rest. However, though the first half promised a lot; the latter half was a total let down as they virtually side stepped the reservation issue & it was more about how the idealistic Big B takes on the education commercialising ways of Bajpayee. It does have some impressive sequences but it was far & few; not to mention the running time of close to 3 hours which does take a toll on the audience.

Big B as always comes up with a praise worthy performance, though it doesnt offer much of a challenge for a person of his stature. Saif, finally offered a meaty role renders it impeccably in the first half while in the latter half he wasnt offered much of screen space. Manoj Bajpayee was convincing as the money minded educationist while Deepika essays the de-glam role of Big B's daughter aptly. Pratheik Babbar's performance left much to be desired as he seemed too wooden & miscasted.

Verdict: "Aarakshan" has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, which could act as a double edged sword. This will naturally add onto the hype that the star cast & Jha's track record has generated; however being banned in UP,AP & Punjab will impact its initials hugely. I do believe that the movie might break even, but nothing more. In short, you can give it a try if you like issue based movies or else give it a miss!!!

Regards...Ben

Chappa Kurishu review: "Crispier version would have enthralled more!!!"

Since the beginning of 2011, Malayalam film industry has seen a wave of encouraging changes in the variety of scripts being tried out. Though multi-starrers seems to be the flavour of the season, our audience has embraced this new genre comprising of realistic movies which at times might be off beat. Adding to this list is debutant Sameer Tahir's "Chappa Kurishu", who has impressed one & all with his cinematography skills in "Big B". With Listin Stephen taking care of the economic aspects after her much acclaimed "Traffic", there's naturally a lot of anticipation surrounding this release. So will it be a memorable debut for Tahir & will Listin be smiling yet again???

Kochi, the business hub of our Kerala; has undergone a sea of change in the last decade with MNCs & other industries being set up leading it to have a multi-cultural & metro lifestyle. Everyone is busy with their life & it's a race to survive the odds, to carve out a niche for oneself in the society. Some might be forceful, ready to go to any extend to attain their goals while there is another set who gets pushed around & goes with the flow. This is the very concept that "Chappa Kurishu" touches upon through the lives of Arjun (Fahad Fazil) & Ansari (Vineeth Sreenivasan). 

Arjun is in the booming construction sector & belongs to the upper strata of society, who believes that everything & anything could be bought with money or if not, attain it by any means. Ansari, on the other hand works in a supermarket & gets bossed around by all. Arjun has an affair going on with his subordinate Sonia (Remya Nambeesan), though he is engaged to his family friend's daughter, Ann (Roma). On hearing about his impending wedding, a quarrel issues between Sonia & Arjun, & in the process, Arjun loses his phone which is taken up by Ansari, without realising that the phone had some intimate moments between the other two. What then follows is a role reversal with the boss being bossed around. So will Arjun get his mobile before it's contents gets leaked out???

Star cast of the movie

Tahir has co-written the script along with Unni & it's certainly a take on today's lives. Though I have heard a couple of my friends saying that it's a copy; it wouldn't be prudent on my part to harp about it as I haven't seen the original. Whatever may be the case, the script does keep us engaged to the very end; though it does have it's share of flaws. The biggest drawback is that there are many sequences in the first half which more or less disrupts the flow of the movie. It gets dragged around aimlessly with hardly anything happening. If at all the editing had been crispier, it would have made it even more engrossing. Coming to the climax, it's imperative that I mention that it has one of the best choreographed fight sequence that I have seen in Malayalam in being both realistic & gruesome. 

Coming to performances, Fahad seems to be improving by leaps & bounds with each passing movie. He was spot on in his characterization as the suave & scheming boss. Vineeth has also done a decent job as the push over commoner. A lot of hype was generated by the bold act of Remya & she has done a fair job; though the second half doesnt offer her any screen space. Roma & Nivetha, doesnt offer anything to the story other than being extra characters.

Verdict: Impressive promos, French kiss & intimate moments have all created quite a bit of hype which ensured it to have a decent opening. However, the audience will be groaning at times owing to its dragging nature especially in the first half which will certainly be a turn off for many. Inspite of this flaw, I would suggest that you guys should give this movie a try as its quite a good effort in terms of being both realistic & engrossing!!!

Regards...Ben

Singham review: "Ajay's turn for a Dabaang!!!"

We are into the second decade of the new millenium & it seems Bollywood have taken a sudden liking for the brand of action movies which was prevalent in 1970s & 80s. As a matter of fact,ever since "Wanted" hit the jackpot; the South Indian spice seems to be the most sought after flavour. The angry young man image immortalised by Big B is being revived, with every actor trying their hand & the latest to join the band-wagon is none other than Ajay Devgan. So this week witnessed the coming together of Rohit Shetty & Ajay, with their action masala "Singham". The question now is, will the duo enthrall the audience with the bulging biceps just as they did by tickling the funny bone in the "Golmaal" series.

Sivagad is a sleepy village on the border of Maharashtra & Goa, which is under the jurisdiction of the honest & upright police officer, Bajirao Singham (Ajay Devgan). This village suddenly becomes a topic of discussion when the dreaded criminal, Jaikant Shikre (Prakash Raj) is adviced by the Court to register his presence daily at the station, for a period of 15 days as part of a bail agreement. Shikre tries to take the easy way out by assigning an accomplice to pose as him at the station, which is detested by Bajirao. From here, starts the rivalry of the protagonists & how it all pans out in this battle of good versus evil forms the framework of the movie. 

It's already a well known fact, that the movie is the remake of Surya's blockbuster "Singam". Just as in the original, the hero is an embodiment of all virtues while the villain seems to have gathered all the negative vices available. Whenever this type of a story is concieved, it's all about how to get the pulse of audience racing & Hari seems to have got all those bases covered. Rohit Shetty has gone on to show that he can also tackle the action genre with as much ease as comedy. The major plus point is undoubtedly the raw power & action sequences by Jai Singh which reminds us of the South Indian flair. As for the downside, it's just a hardcore regular masala venture which might not whet the appetite of the so called lovers of meaningful cinema.

Ajay Devgan has always given his cent percent irrespective of whatever role he dons. Here too, it was all about delivering bombastic dialogues & bashing up the goons single handedly. In short, a comparatively easy role by his standards except for the fact that he has pumped in quite a bit of iron enabling him to have a well sculpted torso. Rubbing shoulders against him, is none other than the awesome Prakash Raj; who emotes his anger & frustrations as easily as the blink of an eye. Kajal Agarwal doesnt have much to do than look good & she definitely was gorgeous. The remaining cast were mainly pawns to add in some spice to the story.

Verdict: The movie will have an outstanding opening in the single screens while the Multiplexes are unlikely to garner much interest. It definitely has all the ingredients of a hit as it caters to the taste of the masses. In short, I am expecting it to be a hit; however I doubt many of you guys will relish it after all its just routine masala stuff & Surya was better in the original!!!

Regards...Ben

Deiva Thirumagan: "Vikram comes up with an Award winning performance!!!"

Gone are the days when the Tamil film industry used to churn out movies which had just one agenda in mind i.e no matter how illogical the plot might be, the hero emerges victorious at any cost. The last 4-5 years saw the emergence of a steady change in the variety of scripts with new talents coming up. Vijay is one such director belonging to this new breed  who had impressed one & all with his previous venture "Madrasapattanam". This time around, he has chosen the talented Vikram to enact the role of a mentally challenged individual in his latest effort titled "Deiva Thirumagan". So will this combination cook up a winner???

Before divulging into the plot, its imperative to mention that it's the copy of the Sean Penn starrer "I am Sam", with a couple of minor changes. Krishna (Vikram) is a mentally challenged individual whose daughter, Nila (Sara) has been taken away by his rich & powerful father-in-law, Rajendran (Sachin Khedkar). Krishna seeks the help of the lawyers Anu (Anushka) & her partner Vinod (Santhanam) to get her back, but standing in their way is the successful & cunning lawyer,Bhashyam (Nasser). The film basically focuses on the relationship of Krishna & Nila, & his efforts to win the case. So will the law allow Nila to live with her mentally challenged father???

Vijay has come up with a winner yet again in terms of content, performances & treatment. Though it's basically a copy, he has done total justice to the plot as it manages to tug at our heart chords in various sequences. There is no denying the fact that he has been adequately supported by Nirav Shah's visuals & Antony's editing. However, there are a couple of shortcomings as it tends to be a touch too long especially in the second half. But the touching climax more or less made up for the flaws from my point of view. The music by G.V Prakash Kumar was fine with "Vizhigalil Oru Vaanavil" rendered by Saindhavi being the best both in terms of picturisation & rhythm.

Coming to performances, Vikram was absolutely awesome which is befitting of a National Award, however even if he doesnt win that there is no second thoughts that he will all the other awards starting from State to Filmfare. Equally impressive has been Baby Sara who was innocence personified & emotes the expressions with perfection. Their incredible chemistry is the life of the movie with two scenes namely one on the first day of school & the climax court scene being absolutely heart warming & tear jerking. Anushka was splendid as she totally utilizes the meaty role along with Nasser. Amala Paul though given a small role has done total justice while Santhanam provides the comic relief without ever exceeding the limits.

Verdict: Just like any other Vikram movie, this will also have a killer opening & should go on to do good business. But its offbeat nature & slow pace might be a turn off for many, which could impact its collections in the long run.  However in my opinion, I would suggest that you guys to definitely check this out!!!

Regards...Ben

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara review: "Cool & adventurous but for the urbane audiences!!!"

Friendship is one of the best relationships in this world as you have a free license to discuss anything under the sun, no matter how trivial or serious the issue could be. Each one of us would have done hoards of stuff with our friends be it the crazy parties, awesome trips, outrageous gags..the list just goes on & on. This very subject has been immortalised on the silver screen many a time with "Dil Chahta Hai" by Farhan Akhtar being one of the most famous ever. So this time around, his sister Zoya Akhtar has decided to touch upon the subject from her point of view, through "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"; which is one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year with an awesome star cast. So will the hype be justified & strike gold at the box office???

Bachelor parties are always greeted with much gusto & mirth, as its basically a free rein for the guys to gang up together & try out some of the craziest things possible before being bound by marital bliss. Here too, Kabir (Abhay Deol) gets engaged to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) & he plans on having a 3 week road trip in the beautiful land of Spain.Giving him company in this bachelor trip are his two friends Arjun (Hrithik), an uptight financial trader & Imran (Farhan Akhtar), a cool advertising copywriter. The only rule in this trip is that each one will have to try out an adventure what the other had planned. In short, its an adventure where these guys try to conquer their individual fears & find solutions to their inner grief.

Zoya Akhtar had impressed one & all with her debut venture "Luck by Chance" which peeped into the life of film stars. Here she has diverted her attention into male bonding which works big time as she has incorporated the subtlities of relationship in a realistic manner both in terms of dialogues & sequences such as gags, tiffs etc. However, the movie is unlikely to strike a chord with the audience other than those in the metros. The length of the movie is also likely to impact the movie as its a shade too long at many places which at times causes us to glance at our watches. There is no denying the fact, that the exquisite locales of Spain has been beautifully soaked up by the cinematography of Carlos Catalan. Similarly,  Shankar Ehsaan Loy also has to be credited for the soothing music which is quite distinct to what we are witness to nowadays.

Zoya Akhtar & Ritesh Sidhwani with the star cast

The biggest attraction of the movie was undoubtedly the awesome starcast & all of them have pulled their weight with their performances. Hrithik as always has given a stunning performance, while Abhay Deol yet again goes on to prove that his choice of movies though offbeat at times invariably gets the attention of the audience & critics alike. The winner however has to be Farhan who was just awesome as the super cool dude. As for the female leads, Katrina continues to evolve as an actress & seems to be totally at ease as the free spirited Laila while Kalki pulls off yet another winner as the irritating fiancee.

Verdict: The box office will open off to packed houses which should continue without fail for a week or so, which should be good enough to make it a hit. However it's a movie meant just for the plexes & unlikely to garner much revenue from the single screens. In short, check it out if you got time & like cool metro guy stories or else give it a miss!!!

Regards...Ben

Salt n Pepper review: "Lips will be licked for more of the scrumptious feast!!!"

Indian food is one of the most sought after cuisine in the world mainly due to the simple fact that its so varied & vast that each state itself has been blessed with their own distinct palates. Our very own Kerala, "God's own country" has such a huge spread which keeps changing from Trivandrum to Kozhikode like paal payasam to Aleesa. Interestingly, the Malayalis love for food is what has been chosen as the basic theme for Aashiq Abu's latest venture "Salt n Pepper". The question now is, will the dish be lapped up by the audience or will it go down the drain???

The moment the credits starts rolling, we are witness to a wide array of heavenly dishes that our salivary glands starts working over time. Kalidasan (Lal) who is the protagonist of the movie, is an archeologist by profession whose interest lies in unraveling the secrets of different cuisines rather than in historic relics. Assisting him in this quest for ultimate food glory is his talented cook, Babu (Baburaj). However things start changing in his life following a wrong number from Maya (Shweta Menon), a dubbing artist. What then follows is the budding of a relationship; but as one knows, life is a labyrinth of twists & that's what forms the framework of the movie.

After the debacle of "Daddy Cool", Aashiq Abu is back with his latest venture which has got food as its basic theme which is both refreshing & inadequately tapped territory. This tasteful delight has been penned by the new duo of Syam Pushkaran & Dileesh Nair. Though the story isnt path breaking, it's the treatment & screenplay that sets it apart. Another major plus point has been the situational comedy which is totally in sync with the events rather than been forced down the throat of the audience. Shyju Khaled has to be lauded for the fantastic savory visuals which will have the eateries earning extra bucks than usual during the interval. The music by Bijibal also deserves a word of praise especially for the track "Kaanamullal" rendered by Shreya Ghoshal & Ranjith. Last but not the least, the impressive promos & unique poster designs has gone a long way in creating an interest in the audience.

Official launch of the movie marked by making dosa by producer Naushad

In the performance department, I have no qualms in admitting that Baburaj was simply outstanding & easily the very best among an impressive star cast. Having always seen him as a rogue police, this was a delectable change & he has done total justice to the character. Lal & Shweta as always comes up with a winning performance yet again; while the youngsters, Mythili & Asif Ali seems to be picking up the tricks of the trade pretty fast.

Verdict: Definitely one of the best movies to have come out this year & Aashiq Abu has without doubt nailed it this time. The best clean situational comedy to have come out since "Pranchiyettan & the Saint", with the box office bells going to ring crazy for the next couple of weeks. In short, dont think twice, watch it without fail...with just a word of caution, kindly have your food before you watch the film or you will be swallowing your saliva the whole time!!!

Regards...Ben

Three Kings: "Hilarious initially but torturous subsequently!!!"

July heralded us into the second half of the year & thankfully owing to some entertaining movies in the first half the public has been flocking to the theatres irrespective of the climate, which translated into the Malayalam industry being in good health. So it remains to be seen whether the trend continues, as this week witnessed the release of "Three Kings" directed by V.K Prasad whose "Gulumaal" & "Mullavelliyum Thenmavum" had garnered decent response. With Chackochan, Indrajith & Jayasurya coming together, his latest venture promises to be a no brainer laugh riot. So will the promise be fulfilled or will the audience groan at the antics???

As Prasad has admitted, the film is inspired from Stanley Kramer's classic "Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", which was remade in Hindi as "Dhamaal". Anywaz the film talks about the relationship of three cousins, Bhaskar (Indrajith), Ram (Chackochan) & Shankar (Jayasurya) who are the heirs to Krishnapuram family which had unfortunately lost all its glory of yester years. To make matters worse, they have been at loggerheads ever since their birth. It is at this juncture that they stumble across a person who tells them about a lost treasure that rightfully belonged to their ancestors. As expected, all three of them embark in search for it, but the question is will they locate it & if so, who will reach there first???

The film has been packaged as a no-brainer full on comic entertainer & as expected the plot doesnt seem to have much of a significance here. There are many sequences in the first half of the movie which are hilarious causing the film to more or less breeze through. However, once the second half starts the comedy fails to evoke laughs & it tends to drag, making us cringe in our seats. The music by Ousepachan was average though the picturisations of "Paara" & "Chakkaramaavin" will have the audience in splits.

Coming to performances, all three protagonists have done a decent job with Indrajith being the pick among the lot. The female leads essayed by Ann, Samvritha & Sandhya were meant to be dumb but it more or less bordered on being irritating rather than tickling the funny bone. Suraj has only a few sequences but his different get-ups evoke laughs, while Ashokan does manage to get noticed with his antics.

Verdict: The film has already created an image of being an out out laugh riot, so that will have the audiences interested. It should be able to hold its own for a fortnight or so, which should be enough to reap benefits for the producer. In short, though the second half pales in comparison, it should still keeps your spirits in check provided you dont carry any hopes!!!

Regards...Ben