Thozha review: "Excellent camaraderie between the thozhans!!!"

On this auspicious Sunday, I would like to wish all my friends & well wishers a peaceful & joyful Easter. It's been a while since I had watched a Tamil movie & when I happened to see the trailer of "Thozha" which is actually a bilingual with the Telugu flick titled "Oopiri", it kinda enticed me to check it out. Actually the primary reason for that being the combination of Nagarjuna & Karthi which seemed to ooze oodles of bromance. So was it as good as the tempting trailer???

Sreenu (Karthi) is a petty thief who was out on parole & on the look out for a suitable job which would earn him brownie points with the judiciary to earn an early release from prison. His search eventually leads him to the quadriplegic billionaire Vikram (Nagarjuna) who was seeking the assistance of a caretaker. Inspite of numerous qualified applicants, Vikram appointed Sreenu as the latter seemed to impart a positive vibe which lifted his spirits. As for Sreenu, he couldnt have hoped for a better job & though reluctant decided to take it up seeing the posh lifestyle that he could enjoy being there. In due time, both of them warm up to each other & as to how each one proves to be an inseparable part of each one's life forms the crux of the movie. 

Since I am not so well versed with Telugu movies, I would have to admit that I haven't watched much of Vamsi Paidipally's previous ventures except for "Yevadu" which was inspired from "Face off". To be frank, I had watched it since I am a huge fan of Allu Arjun (like many other Malayalis) & though it didn't quite blow me off I was kinda satisfied with what the film offered. His latest effort is an inspiration yet again as it is the official remake of the French movie "The Intouchables". Since I haven't watched the original, there is no point of reference which is good in a way as we inevitably tend to be biased towards the original. The biggest positive of the movie is undoubtedly the chemistry between Nagarjuna & Karthi which was brilliant to say the least. A special word of mention for the dialogues by Raja Murugan which was both hilarious & insightful. However, rather than being crisp Vamsi chose to touch on a myriad of issues including the sequence in Paris that was way too long & laborious making the audience look at their watches which doesnt augur well for Praveen's editing credentials. As for other aspects, Gopi Sundar's music was average while P S Vinod deserves praise for his visuals.

Karthi was aptly casted as Sreenu since the character had to be mischievous & project a declasse attitude which comes quite naturally to him. Even Nagarjuna has given a praise worthy performance as the serene billionaire with a heart of gold though I felt he wasn't as effective when it came to displaying the vulnerability of a disabled person. As for the rest of the cast, Prakash Raj & Jayasudha was impressive while Vivek barely got noticed & Tamannah had more to do being an eye candy rather than perform. Even Kalpana was there in a small role which I believe was the last movie she had worked on before she breathed her last in Hyderabad. There were a host of cameos as well which included Anushka, Shriya etc which didnt provide them much scope for performance. 

Verdict: With an enviable star cast the film should have the initial hype working in its favour & with the story also being reasonably good, I would expect it to become a superhit or maybe even a blockbuster. It's surely a feel good movie with ample dosage of bromance. There is no doubt that the film would have been much better off if they have edited about half an hour, but inspite of that it's worth watching. In short, wont hurt to give it a try!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Kapoor & Sons review: "Emotional drama which draws laughs in equal measure!!!"

Just a couple of hours more before arch rivals, India & Pakistan draw swords in Eden Gardens in the mother of all clashes. So before that high stakes match, I decided to check out "Kapoor & Sons" which coincidentally also focused on clashes but within the family. Actually whichever reviews that I had written for Bollywood movies this year, it's all been enactment of real life events, so I was looking forward to check out some light-hearted mirth for quite some time & this one seemed to fit the bill. So was it able to satiate my expectations???

Nestled in the lush green scenic beauty of Connoor was the house of Amarjeet Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor) & his family. He was a nonagenarian who was always upto some tricks to garner the attention of his son and daughter in law. Eventually, he suffers a heart attack and expresses his desire to see his estranged grandsons. Rahul (Fawad Khan) was the elder & was the personification of the perfect son with a successful career as a best selling author based in London. On the other hand, Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra) was struggling to make a name for himself to match his brother as he felt his parents harboured a soft corner for Rahul. Even their parents relationship was in rough waters as Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) & Sunita (Ratna Pathak) frequently fought over their finances and fidelity issues. Will this disharmonious family ever be able to resolve their arguments before it tears them apart???

The biggest positive of the movie is the realistic take on family problems without ever going over the top & we do actually feel for the characters. All credit for that goes to Shakun Batra, who did give us a rather distinct rom com in the form of "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu" a couple of years back. Over here, in the company of Ayesha Dhillon, he has weaved a script which is both hilarious & emotional at the same time. The manner in which the climax unfolds with numerous relationship issues does make us sit up for sure. With regard to the technical aspects, music has been done by a host of people with my favourite tracks being "Bolna" & "Buddhu Sa Mann". As for the visuals by Jeffrey Bierman & editing by Shivkumar Panicker, both of them have done a decent job.

Talking about performances, it's kinda difficult to rate them coz I felt all of them have done a wonderful job. Ratna Pathak was fantastic as she shows vulnerability & haughtiness with ease while Rajat Kapoor as always rocked. Fawad Khan is the one who actually got the meatiest role which had numerous layers to it and he has done a fine job along with Siddharth. Rishi Kapoor's prosthetics might not be exactly top notch but he brings the roof down with his hilarious one liners while Alia Bhatt did justice to her spunky role. 

Verdict: With the T20 WC in full swing, the initial that the film might garner over the weekend will be affected for sure. However, at just 2 h it wont hurt to check this out as it would make you laugh & teary eyed over the course of the movie. In short, it is not thrilling as an Ind-Pak match but it does have its moments which deserves a one time watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Jai Gangaajal review: "Predictable template with praise worthy performances!!!"

Corruption, intolerance, suicides etc are some of the words that we do come across on a daily basis with the media bombarding us with news of this nature across the nation. Numerous movies have focused on these topics with some even being inspired from real life events. One such movie was Prakash Jha's "Gangaajal" which was inspired from the Bhagalpur blinding incident. More than a decade has passed since its release & now we have the sequel "Jai Gangaajal" awaiting its verdict at the box office. Well it's more like a "name-sake" sequel as none of the characters are similar though the situations are. So will it have a similar response from the audience as its prequel???

Abha Mathur (Priyanka Chopra) was assigned charge as SP of Bankipur, a place which was rather infamous for wide spread corruption & violence spearheaded by the ruthless MLA Babloo Pandey (Manav Kaul) & his brother Dabloo Pandey (Ninad Kamat). Their latest agenda was to usurp the land from the farmers to set up a thermal plant & all seemed to progress to plan thanks to the crooked cop BN Singh (Prakash Jha) facilitating their endeavors. However Abha's entry put a spanner to their schemes & seemed to provide a new lease of life to the public. But can she stand up to the might of these rogues especially when her own subordinates were hand in glove with them???

Prakash Jha is known for his movies which takes up topics of relevance of the current political scenario and weaves his craft about it. His latest venture also traces a similar template which however fails to inspire the audience as it doesn't provide anything that we haven't seen from him. However, he springs a major surprise as he effectively plays the protagonist inspite of being understandably packaged as a Priyanka Chopra movie who has significantly lesser screen space than him. Even though the script is trite & tedious to sit through, the performances by the main cast makes it watchable. Apart from the performances, none of the other aspects deserves a special mention.

As mentioned earlier, the protagonist is actually Prakash Jha who I have to admit has done utmost justice to the character. Though not quite of the class of Ajay Devgn, Prakash's expressions & body language kinda reminded me of the former. Equally impressive was Priyanka who apart from her acting abilities was damn good in the action sequences. As for the rest, Manav Kaul also deserves mention for an aptly essayed role.

Verdict: It's kinda expected that the movie wont make the box office go bonkers but I believe it has the capability to do well in the single screens in North India. Well I wont quite recommend the movie as it's kinda boring to be frank except for the performances. So in short, wont hurt to give it a miss!!!

Rating : 2/5

Regards...Ben

Aligarh review: "Slow paced yet impactful performances!!!"

It might sound ironic but the truth is though we are in 2016 some of our rules are still so archaic or rather grossly misunderstood. Section 377 is one such law which made headlines over the years as it criminalizes homosexual acts. Though it was decriminalized in 2009, this stance lasted only for a short time. However, about a fortnight back the Supreme Court has referred the plea against it to a 5 judge constitutional bench. It is at this juncture that Hansal Mehta comes with "Aligarh" which is a real life take on the plight of a Prof in Aligarh University who fell victim to this discrimination. 

Prof S R Siras (Manoj Bajpai) was the Chair of Modern Indian Languages and taught Marathi at the Aligarh university. On the night of Feb 8th, 2010; he was filmed with a male lover in bed in a sting operation by a local TV channel. The administration lost no time in suspending him as they believed that his homosexual act was immoral & against the rules of the university. It virtually brought his life to a standstill as he was treated like an untouchable or rather an anomaly among the people. On the behest of activists & friends, he engages in a legal battle against the university & wins the verdict in his favour. The film in total gives us a sense as to what he had to go through just coz he was gay.

Hansal Mehta might not quite be a household name but his recent releases have all been highly regarded among the movie connoisseurs be it "Shahid" for which he was awarded the National Award or "Citylights". It's definitely off-beat in nature, but what makes it appealing is that it is realistic in all sense of the word. Even his latest venture "Aligarh" belongs to the same league as it has been brilliantly shot with an impeccable eye for detail. It does focus on the victimization of the protagonist but at the same time also throws light on his loneliness and literary tastes. But the climax ought to have been more impactful & it should have also delved about his family. There is no denying that the film moves at a snail's pace at times which does test our patience, but the powerful performances enables us to tide over it to an extent. 

Manoj Bajpai's credentials as an actor is well known & as Prof Sirsa he was absolutely mind blowing. His appearance, body language & pensive expressions were spot on that we are totally hooked to the character. Equally impressive was Rajkummar Rao (who incidentally plays a Malayali & does mouth a few Malayalam dialogues as well) who plays the role of a young, talented and empathic journalist with conviction. Ashish Vidyarthi also deserves praise for his brief role.

Verdict: Due to it's off-beat nature, it's kinda difficult to say whether the people will be encouraged to check it out. I do admit that it gets damn slow paced at times for our comfort but it has some power packed performances which deserve to be watched!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Neerja review: "Extraordinary display of courage which will leave us teary-eyed!!!"

Life abounds with stories of unbelievable feats of courage & resilience of ordinary people on the face of crisis. If January saw Bollywood capture the exemplary valour of Ranjit Katyal (modeled after numerous brave individuals) during the Gulf War through "Airlift", then this month is about Neerja Bhanot who is revered for her extraordinary display of courage which saved the passengers of the Pan Am airlines in 1986. She was honoured posthumously with the Ashoka Chakra & was the youngest recipient of it apart from other honours from the US and Pakistan. So will "Neerja" be able to do justice to the exceptional spirit of this great female???

For those who arent quite well versed about the tragic events that unfolded on the fateful night of September 5th, 1986; I will just give a brief overview.  Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor) was the darling of her parents, who instilled confidence & courage in her to pursue her dreams even when life inflicted a harsh blow in the form of a failed marriage. Two days prior to her 23rd birthday, she was on her maiden flight as the senior flight purser of Pan Am 73 from Mumbai to New York via Karachi. Incidentally, four armed terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization was plotting to hijack the plane from Karachi in exchange for their men in prison. As planned, the terrorists managed to hijack the plane however Neerja's timely alert ensured that the pilots escaped leaving the plane stranded on the tarmac. As the patience of the terrorists wore thin, so did the hopes of the passengers on board but Neerja was determined to protect as many as possible. How this incredible female managed to pull off this daring feat forms the crux of the movie.

The movie has been helmed by Ram Madhvani who has made it appear as authentic as possible rather than make it into a stylish thriller that we are so used to nowadays. As a matter of fact, the jerky cinematography coupled with the apt choice of lighting by Mitesh Mirchandani really helps in providing the impact. With regard to the screenplay, Saiwyn Quadras has done a praise worthy job for most parts especially the portions which shows flashbacks of her past & how she gathers strength from that. However, I felt the parts which focused on the incidents inside the plane lacked detail & seemed more like just reading the wikipedia page. 

It's no secret that Sonam Kapoor isn't a talented actress as is evident by most of her performances to date. But she definitely impresses this time around & likely to be in pole position to swoop up awards. From a physical appearance point of view, Sonam was spot on & does her part well also, but I believe Kangana Ranaut could have been a better choice. The best performance in the movie however belonged to Shabana Azmi who just owns the scene every time she came on screen & equally awesome was Yogendra Tiku (as Neerja's father) (the scene where both talk over the phone comforting each other was brilliant). As for the rest, they were average & didnt have much to do. 

Verdict: The film will not take the box office by storm but it will have the word of mouth in its favour which will help it in the long run. It's not about how captivated we will be on watching the movie, but rather it's an occasion to be inspired by a young female who sacrificed her life in the line of duty & more importantly, to protect the life of her fellow beings. So do check it out as it will surely move your heart, it sure did for me!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Airlift review: "Lifts the spirits among the audience!!!"

Almost a month into 2016 & Bollywood already had a big release in "Wazir" which bit the dust for obvious reasons. However, one of the movies  that I was most eagerly looking forward to this year was Akshay's "Airlift" which hit the screens yesterday. Based on the evacuation of about 1.7 lakh Indians who were stranded in Kuwait during the Gulf War, it made sense to release it just days before our 67th Republic Day. More often than not, real life events have been portrayed dismally on celluloid as the makers tends to inject an over-dosage of heroism & patriotism. So did Raja Menon repeat the same mistake???

The film unfolds a day prior to the Iraqi invasion with Ranjit Katiyal (Akshay Kumar) shown as a wealthy Indian business magnate who has significant influence over the Kuwait royal clan. However, all hell breaks loose when Saddam takes over Kuwait & all the expatriates are stranded as the embassies gets locked down. Even though Ranjit manages to secure a safe passage for his family out of the country for a hefty sum, the predicament of his less fortunate Indian brethren makes him to think about them as well. What subsequently follows is Ranjit's efforts to somehow get the expatriates back to India against all odds.

It might sound surprising but it seems Raja Menon's directorial debut "Bas Yun Hi" happened more than a decade back  & this is in fact his third venture. As mentioned earlier, the inspiration for this movie was the massive evacuation orchestrated by the Indian government in collaboration with Air India which actually finds a mention in the Guinness Book as well. The biggest positive is that Raja doesnt make his protagonist do super human stuff but still manages to captivate the audience with the events that unfold. But I felt the second half could have been a bit more gripping as it didnt quite have the sequences which could have given the edge of the seat experience as felt in the climax of "Argo". On the technical side, Priya Seth's visuals were praise worthy while Hemanti Sarkar's editing were adequate. As for the music, Ankit Tiwari has done a reasonable job though at times it hindered the flow of the movie. 

In the past few years, Akshay has come out with movies which was inspired from real life events be it "Special 26" or "Baby" in both of which he had rocked. Even in his latest release, he was brilliant as the protagonist who exhibits a range of emotions with elan from being the flamboyant profit seeking businessman to the reluctant leader of the expatriates & he is surely the heart and soul of the movie. After "Lunchbox", Nimrat Kaur is in mainstream cinema for a change & have done a reasonably decent job though the idea of being quite decked up with ample make-up in such harrowing situations didn't make sense. However, the sequence where she stands up for her husband & delivers a smashing dialogue was awesome. As for the rest of the cast, Kumud Mishra was impressive, Prakash Belawadi as the irritating Georgekutty was bang on while Purab Kohli, Inaamulhaq, Lena etc all needs to be commended on a job well done.

Verdict: In all probability, the film should rack in pretty good numbers as the word of mouth will definitely work in its favour. But knowing the general response of the Bollywood audience, it wont make as much noise at the box office as the mindless masala movies. Anywaz it truly deserves eyeballs & I would suggest that all of you guys to definitely check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Adi Kapyare Koottamani review: "Kootta chiri for both the audience & makers is guaranteed!!!"

Another 24 hours more & we will bid adieu to 2015 which saw almost 140 Malayalam movies being released, Though majority of them bit the dust, there has been quite a few which did grab eyeballs for its content & treatment. So seeking to claim a spot among such money spinners is John Varghese's debut venture "Adi Kapyare Koottamani". The promos & posters emphasizes the fact that this is a no holds barred laugh riot which is set against the backdrop of a boys hostel. Hmm...will the last movie of 2015 bring smiles to both the audience & producers ???

The film unfolds in Lord Wallace Boys hostel which is under the guardianship of Fr. Alfred Kattuvilayil (Mukesh) who took pride in the discipline of his wards. Though unknown to him, the boarders made merry in their own way with booze & other entertainments. Prominent among them were a gang of four namely Bhanu (Dhyan Sreenivasan), Bruno (Aju Varghese), Remo (Neeraj Madhav) & Koshy (Vineeth Mohan). It so happened that Bhanu had an urgent need for money & a girl by name of Adhishta Lekshmi (Namitha Pramod) whom he meets at the canteen offers to help him out of the blue in exchange for his assistance to enter the boys hostel. The reason as to why she wants to enter the hostel & the problems they face subsequently forms the plot of the movie.

As has been the trend of Friday Film House headed by Sandra Thomas & Vijay Babu, they have ushered in yet another debutant director into the industry. This individual happened to be John Varghese who also scripted the movie along with Abhilash S Nair. The idea of a girl trying to enter the boys hostel does sound interesting, but the excitement in the plot doesn't proceed beyond that. However, the screenplay is made engaging with humorous one liners which keeps the audience engaged. The film works primarily due to the cast that has been assembled who were impressive & the camaraderie that they share off screen has benefited the end product immensely. Shaan Rehman's music was average but I liked the track "Ende Maavum Poothe" rendered by Vineeth Sreenivasan & Co. The same opinion also goes for Ajay David's visuals and Lijo Paul's editing as well.  

In the performance department, though Dhyan is projected as the lead Aju & Neeraj Madhav are the ones who brings the house down with their hilarious antics & cracking one liners. Dhyan has done a decent job but he still needs to work on his comic timing & diction to make it more impressionable rather than appear as buffoonery. As for the rest of the cast, all of them have done a decent job as well be it Namitha, Mukesh, Vineeth or Bijukuttan.

Verdict: It's almost a week since the movie have released & from the reports coming in, it seems to be doing well at the box-office. This is surely an apt choice for this festival season as it will tickle the funny bone of the audience. In short, the humorous screenplay makes it an enjoyable experience & so be sure to check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben