Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns review: "Not as thrilling as the prequel!!!"

Sequels has been the flavour of the industry in the past few years, but invariably most of the times the sequel barely has any connection with the prequel except for the star cast. However, the sequel of critically acclaimed "Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster", promises to be different & paints a whole new sage of love, power & betrayal. The question now is can the sequel match the lofty standards of its prequel???

The film kicks off from where it has left off in the prequel with Aditya Pratap Singh (Jimmy Shergill) confined to the wheel chair after being paralysed by the gun shot. His relation with his wife, Madhavi Devi (Mahie Gill) was on the rocks as he tries to overcome the infidelity & betrayal she had inflicted on him, while Madhavi who is a MLA seeks solace in alcohol. Seeking to revive the days of yore, Aditya seeks the support of the other royals to ensure that political power rests in their arms. However, in this battle for power adversaries emerges even among trusted lieutenants. Prominent among the foes was Indrajith Singh (Irrfan Khan) who himself was of royal lineage but whose royality has bit the dust with the ill times. As Aditya manipulates for power, Indrajith plots for vengeance & who eventually truimphs forms the crux of the film.

Tigmanshu Dhulia has definitely come up with an impressive script, but certainly not on par with the prequel. Though the first half does build the tempo, the latter half fails to land the knockout punch & fizzles out in a rather predictable manner. Just as in the prequel, the dialogues are spot on & Tigmanshu has to be applauded for it. Sandeep Chowta's background score was good while the music was average at best. 

Undoubtedly the biggest plus point of the film is the brilliant performances essayed by Jimmy Shergill & Irrfan Khan. Both of them virtually got into the skin of the character & delivers with panache. Equally impressive were the rest of the cast be it Mahie Gill, though she did seem repetitive towards the latter half, Soha Khan who seemed to be an apt choice for the delicate princess, Raj Babbar and the rest.

Verdict: The film is bound to have an impressive opening considering the positive comments it had garnered from its prequel. Though it was kinda predictable towards the latter half & lacks the flair of the prequel, it still makes for a very good one time watch. So do check it out!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Shutter review: "No surprises for garnering applause!!!"

"Shutter" came into the news for the first time when it won the Silver Crow Pheasant Award at the 17th International Film Festival of Kerala. Then later on when the State Awards were announced, I did come across a news video of the director, Joy Mathew in FB where he seemed arrogant & proclaimed foul play when his movie was denied the best film award. Hmm...is there any iota of truth to what he said???

Kozhikode is well known for its honest auto drivers & Sura (Vinay Fort) seemed to be one among the famed lot when he happens to come across the bag of Manoharan (Sreenivasan), a talented yet unlucky director. Manoharan has been running from pillar to pillar to obtain the dates of the superstar & the backing of a producer; but when he finally gets that he loses the bag which contained his script. Rasheed (Lal) was back from the Middle East to enjoy his holidays with his family & friends, which includes Sura as well. However, during one of his binging nights, his testosterone goes for a toss which ultimately lands him with a sex worker (Sajitha Madathil) in his shuttered property. But things goes horribly wrong when Sura gets arrested for drunken driving leaving Rasheed & the sex worker locked within the confines of the shuttered room. Will Rasheed be able to escape from the room with his reputation intact???

Joy Mathew is a noted theatre actor, play wright & political activist who is well known for his lead role in John Abraham's "Amma Ariyan" way back in 1986. About a quarter of a century has passed & this time around he has donned the director's cap for the first time & deserves to be applauded on a well scripted thriller which posts questions on our morals & principles. Though the first half doesnt impart much of an impact, the latter half packs a punch primarily due to the impressive performances of the characters. The other technical aspects seemed fine though nothing deserves special mention.

All the characters have essayed their roles impressively especially Vinay Fort & Sajitha Madathil. Both of them were an absolute natural in their respective roles while Lal & Sreenivasan performed their parts in a manner which was expected of them. 

Verdict: Thanks to the award it won at the IFFK, it has garnered a great deal of curiosity and expectations which to a certain extent is totally justified. It's definitely a well crafted film which ought to be seen by the audience. In short, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Kai Po Che review: "Hits the bulls eye in all aspects!!!"

The first thing which struck me about this movie was its unique title "Kai Po Che" which sounded more like Chinese to me. Anywaz in due time, I was told that it was actually a Gujarati phrase used in kite competition for proclaiming victory. With Abhishek Kapoor calling the shots after his critically & commercially acclaimed "Rock On", the expectations has been nigh high. So will the public verdict be similar to the title???

Ishaan (Sushant Singh Rajput), Omi (Amit Sadh) & Govind (Rajkumar Yadav) were the best of buddies who sets about starting a business related to sports equipment & a cricket coaching academy. Inspite of being a gifted player, Ishaan was the victim of cricketing politics which spurred him into coaching talented youngsters & the one that caught his eye was a localite, Ali who he believed had the makings of a future Indian player. Omi was into religion politics at the behest of his uncle who finances their business while Govind was the entrepreneur in their venture. The film tracks the ups & downs of their lives over the years through various incidents like the Gujarat earthquake, the epic 2nd test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2000-01 & the Godhra train massacre.

Just as in "Rock On", this film also speaks about friendship but in a manner which relates to each & every individual. Based on "the 3 Mistakes of my Life" by Chetan Bhagat, Abhishek Kapoor has captured the essence of the book & replicated it in a much more heart warming format. Equally impressive was the music by Amit Trivedi which was in sync with the situation & mood of the film. 

All the three protagonists have done an impressive job but my favourite is undoubtedly Sushant who has a commanding screen presence backed by some impressive silver screen performances in the past & seems more than likely to be the one to look out for in the future. Rajkumar Yadav has already been part of some critically acclaimed films like "GOW", "Shaitan", "LSD" etc. while Amit has done some decent work in the silver screen. 

Verdict: Inspite of being a film with relatively new faces, the content will ensure that it will garner good collections. With hardly any other credible films in the vicinity presently, it should be looking on to becoming a super hit by its standards. In short, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Celluloid review: "Rightfully deserves all the applause!!!"

Finally after a hiatus of more than a month, I am back to writing reviews. It's been a pretty eventful month both personally & in the cine world as well. The biggest news of them all being Kamal's "Celluloid", sweeping the State Awards. Though it's been more than a fortnight since the film has released, I felt this is the right movie to get back into the groove of things.So the first query that I have is whether all these accolades garnered by "Celluloid" really justified???

Dr. J.C Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema went though a hell of pain before he was rightfully given the honour that he truly deserved. In a way, this was Kamal's tribute to this esteemed personality & the person he chose to breathe life into the protagonist was Prithviraj. It was 1928, more than a decade since Dadasaheb Phalke has introduced our nation to the magical world of cinema which was followed suit by the Tamilians but Kerala still considered it as an art form beyond its capability until J.C Daniel (Prithvi) thought otherwise. Spurred on with the wisdom & valuable tidbits that he received from his brief meeting with Dadasaheb, Daniel embarks on his mission to making the first Malayalam film. His path was bereft with obstacles be it with the casting or the economic issues, but he believed all this was worth the effort to realise his dream. Hmm...little did he realise that things were going to be horribly wrong henceforth for all those involved in that film.

Kamal has to be applauded on a well crafted film with all the factors working in its favour be it Venu's brilliant cinematography, Pattanam Rasheed's make up & Suresh Kollam's authentic art direction. Based on Vinu Abraham's "Nashta Nayika", Kamal has remained faithful to the basic storyline coupled with an impressive screenplay. Though I did come across comments that it gets dragging after a point of time, I tend to differ & absolutely loved the climax which will certainly moisten many eyes as it did mine. Even Jayachandran's music was spot on & it's not a surprise that it has become a chart buster.

Prithviraj was absolutely brilliant & it's not a surprise that he won the State Award. Actually I felt that he is unlucky to have been considered for 2012's awards as it was likely that even otherwise he would have won it for "Ayalum Njaanum Thammil". Mamtha, Srinivas & all the rest have done their roles absolute justice but the pick of the lot for me is debutant Chandni of Indian Voice fame as it seemed that the role was tailor made for her.

Verdict:  Without doubt, the film is marching on to become a blockbuster & rightfully deserved all the awards that has come its way. It might sound a bit preposterous, but I have a feeling that Prithvi might be in consideration for the Bharat Award. The film might feel a bit slow & dragging for some but it's a film that each one of us ought to watch.

Rating: 4/5

Regards...Ben

Annayum Rasoolum review:"Slow realistic love story!!!"

If one has noticed the Tamil films in recent times, there is an exodus of numerous small budget ventures with its premises based on hard hitting realistic stuff. Even our Malayalam industry is slowly waking up to the fact that the audience needs variety & originality. If I have to choose one actor who takes up such subjects, then it has to be Fahad Fazil who has been going from strength to strength with each passing film. With numerous films in his kitty, he kicks off the year with "Annayum Rasoolum" which seems to be promising.

Rasool (Fahad Fazil) is just like any other taxi-driver who motors along the roads of Cochin for a living & makes merry with his buddies which at times borders on insanity. It is during one such tumultuous night that Rasool almost runs over Anna (Andrea Jeremiah). But even in that freak second, his eyes gets locked onto her & as if by destiny meets up with her yet again on a similar crazy day. Since then Rasool starts following Anna everywhere without ever enforcing his presence onto her. His longing gaze & sheepish smiles spoke volumes of his feelings for her but it was always reciprocated with a blank expression. In due time, she reluctantly agrees to his advances; fully aware that life was never going to be the same again.

Rajeev Ravi is a renowned cinematographer with many impressive films to his credit such as "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Dev D" etc. This time around he has donned the director's hat & my word, he has done a brilliant job. Though the film was dreadfully slow in many sequences, in total it was engaging and hard hitting. In addition to Ravi, the scripting credits also goes to Sethunath & Santhosh Echikannam especially for well etched roles for even the supporting cast. At a length of close to 3 hours, it can test the patience of quite a few & therefore it would have been better off if they had edited it by about half an hour or so. The music by K was average with "Kannu Randu Kannu" rendered by Shahabaz Aman being the pick among the lot.

I just have one word to say about Fahad Fazil..."brilliant". I am still struggling to believe whether he was the same person who absolutely sucked in his debut venture. I do agree that Anna's role required someone like Andrea quite sobre & stark, but I believe there could have been better choices. From being the loud & cool dude, it was a complete role reversal for Sunny Wayne who excelled in his part. Each & every member of the cast has done total justice to their roles.

Verdict: If it wasn't for the slow movement, the film would have done wonders at the box office. There is no doubt that the length will act as a deterrent for many but it will still have takers who would cherish this hard hitting realistic cinematic experience. In short, dont miss it!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Romans review: "Dynamic duo impresses despite a trite storyline!!!"

Ever since "Ordinary" made extraordinary returns at the box-office, the combination of Biju Menon & Chackochan has been the toast of the industry. Though their combination fizzed away in Shafi's "101 Weddings", the duo has come together yet again for Boban Samuel's "Romans". Hmm...can they recreate their magic???

"Romans" is the tale of two convicts, Akash (Chackochan) & Shibu (Biju Menon) who flees from custody and lands up in the village of Poomala, only to be mistaken for priests from Rome. The church was in ruins as if under some evil spell with all the previous priests ending up with mysterious deaths. Sensing this could be an ideal place for lying low, they decide to masquerade as the priests from Rome that the villagers were waiting for. In due time, they play on the blind faith of the villagers with their street smartness & magic skills. But can they dispel away the omen before it's too late.

After having impressed with his debut venture "Janapriyan", I do have to say that Boban Samuel has disappointed big time as the script by Y.V Rajesh offered nothing new. The only saving grace in an otherwise average and predictable script is the frequent catchy one liners by Biju Menon which had the audience in splits. Another flaw which I had felt was the length of the movie especially the first half. It definitely deserved a major editing as it doesnt convey much in the extended time.

Both Chackochan & Biju Menon have done their best to inject life into an otherwise lackluster script. Biju was on fire with his tongue in cheek dialogues while Chackochan provides ample support. Nivedita was wasted in a worthless role while T.G Ravi & Lalu Alex enacted their parts well.

Verdict: It should have a pretty decent run as the audience will surely lap up the antics of the protagonists. With biggies lined up for this weekend, collections will take a hit but it should be able to break even. In short, give it a try for some laughs!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Maad Dad review: "Stupid would have been a better adjective"!!!

Last year witnessed the entry of numerous new comers into the industry be it either into the technical aspect or donning the grease. Just a couple of weeks into 2013 & it presents us with a new heroine in Nazriya Nazim through "Maad Dad". The promos hasn't been impressive & that is never a good sign as it reduces the chances of a decent initial. Unlike the title, hope that the movie isn't mad.

Esho (Lal) is a doting father to Mariam (Nazriya Nazim) and was a stickler for things of the past be it his choice of names, car, attire etc. So intense was his love for his late wife, Anuradha rechristened as Annamma (Meghna Raj); that his subconscious mind creates an alternate world where his wife was still very much alive. Time finally comes when he decides to give his daughter's hand to her lover, Dr.Bonnie (Sreejith Vijay), much to the displeasure of Bonnie's mother. What subsequently follows is a predictable tale of inflicting emotional scars on Esho & how everything finally transpires.

Thanks to Revathy S Verma who pretty much handled all the major departments from directing to screenplay, she lacked the finesse of a professional. She has come up with a story which neither offers anything fresh in content nor execution. Except for a couple of emotional sequences, the whole movie was pretty much a drag which kinda became unbearable by the acting histrionics of the supporting cast. Another major let down was the music by Alex Paul as it disrupted the flow of the movie with each song being worser than the previous one. The only positive I felt were the poster designs by Ramesh Channel.

Nazriya Nazim is a well known face in the silver screen as she was the host of Asianet Munch Junior Star Singer & did appear in a couple of films like "Palunku", "Oru Naal Varum" etc. But this is her first entry into the league of heroines or is it "heroin"...wonder what the makers meant by terming her as a narcotic!!! She has definitely done a decent job along with Lal who however goes over board many a time. As for the supporting cast, the lesser said the better as it was downright pathetic.

Verdict: Neither will the film garner an initial nor does it deserve to have an audience in the theatres. In short, dont even bother watching except maybe on TV & that too solely to encourage Nazriya!!!

Rating: 1.5/5

Regards...Ben