Nobody (2021): Bob Odenkirk On A Death Wish

The review was first published on MadAboutMoviez: Nobody review

I was channel surfing on a boring day, not sure what I wanted to watch, my eyes fell on “Nobody”. There was Bob Odenkirk, probably lying on the ground, and many fists landing on his contorted face. Images of Saul Goodman from “Better Call Saul” & “Breaking Bad”, who usually got roughed up or picked up by gang members, started popping out of my memory. I had never seen Bob in a movie before, so I felt, this was as good a time as any, to watch a full fledged movie of Bob Odenkirk.

Not knowing what to expect, I bravely selected the movie and let it play. Interestingly, within first 10 mins they show us a glimpse of Hutch’s routine life, of waking up, going on a jog, preparing breakfast, missing the garbage truck, getting to work, punching the hours, returning etc. Day in and day out, that was his mundane tale. Until one evening, an armed couple enter their home to rob them blind. Hutch’s teenage son, Blake, manages to tackle one of them, and signals his father to take down the other member. But Hutch seems reluctant, and lets them go. Somewhere, I felt vindicated that this was a  movie of a repressed soul who usually lets things go, takes it on his chin and moves on.

After the incident, Blake is of course disappointed and even other family members, his wife Becca and daughter Abby, think of him as a coward. The assailants take away petty cash and some bibelot, but very soon they discover that Abby’s kitty bracelet has gone missing. That’s when things start moving really fast. You realize, Hutch is not who he claims to be, a docile family man who cannot protect his family.

Hutch visits his dad, picks up the oldman’s FBI  badge to threaten his way through and picks up a gun to bolster himself. And in this sudden daredevilry, we get to know of his background, in bits and pieces. The bracelet retrieval job goes awry and in the process he ends up antagonizing Russian war lords. And a whole gamut of them are now behind him. This tough side of Hutch, really comes as a surprise.

The raw fist fight with limited space in a moving bus, is very well shot. Hutch takes on the goons, in what is all nerve and sinew with some adrenaline rush. Also, the manner in which the face-off happens with the drug lord, is also beautifully captured in a fine dine sequence. The action that ensues, were just fabulous. That’s when, out of curiosity I googled to check, and found that Derek Kolstad, the creator of John Wick series, was the writer of the movie. No wonder, the fights were so well choregraphed. Not just the fight, but the entire prep for the fight, family protection, cleanup, ammunition stockpile, booby traps and high decibel gun shots, were brilliantly done.

But the masterstroke was in casting Bob Odenkirk as Hutch. The way he presented the passive father and dutiful worker, and then transformed to a person with pent up frustration and channelizing his anger to mow down an army of gangsters, was stupendous. The film elevates itself from a family drama to a full blown action extravaganza, at the hands of some deft direction by Ilya Naishuller. He begins the movie with a slow poise and morning dust, and then moves into brisk pace and finally ends on a high voltage adrenalin filled with smoke and gun powder.

I would surely like to see Hutch “Nobody” Mansell becomes a series, because it surely deserves a sequel at par with John Wick. Watch this movie, while you are still waiting for John Wick 4

 

Sherni (2021) Movie Review: Man vs. Wild

First published on MadAboutMoviez: Sherni

Right in the middle of the movie, Nangia, played by Neeraj Kabi, delivers a lecture in a seminar on how development and environment does not go hand in hand. Hence, we should strive for a balance, where both can coexist, exclaims Nangia.

This coexistence of tigress T-12 with people who live around the forest area, forms the crux of the movie. While the new DFO [Divisional Forest Officer] Vidya Vincent, zoologist Hassan Noorani, few other junior forest officers and handful of villagers are trying to find a solution whereby T-12 can be guided out of the village area into the green belt wildlife sanctuary.

A villager loses his life as pugmark of a tiger is found at the scene. After much investigation, its concluded that T-12 was the attacker and she has to be stopped before she can claim more victims. The villagers are scared, and politicians like GK & PK, make the most of this fear. While GK rallies around the villagers since he wants to return to power, PK gets an ace hunter Pintu Singh to try and kill the tigress and retain his legislative power. The movie instantly reminds us of Jim Corbett and his work on maneaters of Kumaon.  

This powerplay between the warring politicians only reveals that they don’t feel for either the villagers or the tigress. T-12 means different things to different people; its just another hunting game for Pintu Singh, it’s a matter of job retention and transfer for Bansal, who is Vidya’s boss, and for Nangia, its an assignment where he has to put the issue to rest.

The helplessness of T-12 takes us back to the Avni episode in Maharashtra, which probably was the inspiration for this movie. Safe passage for T-12, becomes a mission for Vidya. She doesn’t wish to see a conflict, and definitely not a hunt down of the tigress. But will she succeed? That forms the most thrilling part of the movie.

Noorani, played by Vijay Raaz, is very diligent. He wishes to introduce scientific methods in identifying animals, and in safeguarding them. He conducts the various awareness programs, but he too has compulsions of his own, and cannot stay back forever. Nangia, who was once a fiery young forest officer, whom Vidya idolized, is now veering towards bureaucratic norms and looks for easy way out. Bansal, played by Brijendra Kala, is a slimy boss who has no real intentions of public service. He only wants to keep the local MLA happy, and his interest lies in singing at parties and generally fooling around.

And finally, there is Vidya Vincent, essayed superbly by Vidya Balan, who has come out as a symbol of women empowerment, with her choice of movies. As Vidya Vincent, she does full justice to the role of a forest officer who is passionate about her work and wants to form a bond with the villagers where they can cohabit without any clashes. At the same time, she is also seen fighting patriarchy, where, as a woman officer she isn’t taken seriously at first. In a hilarious scene, her husband is seen pleading with her to keep her govt job which is recession proof and has many benefits, while his corporate job could be at risk since they were laying off people. But along with such a husband, she also has to face her mother-in-law who constantly asks her to start a family, nags about her not wearing jewelry and not appearing like a typical Indian woman. Vidya has supportive mother, but even that support is seen to be running dry towards the end. Her job, and mission T-12 is her only respite.

At a leisurely pace with running length of 130 mins, the movie takes us through the vast forest areas of Madhya Pradesh. The director Amit Masurkar and cameraman Rakesh Haridas, spend a lot of time on the fantastic forest trails. They explain how cameras are placed to spot the animals, and how scientific DNA testing is used to identify the maneater etc. In a poignant scene, they also lament at how a green corridor expressway and a copper quarry are located in the dense of the forest, thereby dividing it into two forest areas and how that hampers movement of animals. Even in the movie Newton, Masurkar had the forest areas as his backdrop. And this shows that he is a nature lover. And in this movie, the metaphor of Sherni, has been brought out very well. Its not only T-12, but Vidya herself who is being hounded. And the movie is all about how the sherni fights back.

 

Friends: The Reunion (2021): A Candyfloss Get-together

This was first published on MadAboutMoviez: Friends Reunion

It has been 20 years since I graduated from high school. We wanted to have a reunion of few close buddies who are still in touch. The last such reunion we had was in 2019, when a pal from Canada and another from Australia were visiting India during the year-end holiday. Of course, soon Corona virus hit us and we all were trapped in our homes.

Anyways, its not easy to plan reunions, especially if they are not milestone based like decade or score or silver jubilee. And given the current pandemic, it becomes all the more tough. But someone managed to pull the strings and gather the six main stars of the series Friends, in the middle of such a situation, to mark 17 years since airing of the last episode of Friends. Yes, its been 17 long years since Friends went off air during prime time. Although, the re-runs are still happening in half the globe.

The short documentary styled get-together opens with all the cast members visiting the sets of their apartment. We immediately notice that men have aged and put on weight without any qualms and become a soccer-dad, if you will. Matt LeBlanc was already on the ageing process, as we witnessed in Man with a Plan series, playing father roles. David Schwimmer has kept himself fit, and I suspect that’s more to do with his regular fitness regime. Even during the Friends telecast, he showed the least physical variation. Mathew Perry was also seen sporting a white five o’ clock shadow, and a pot belly.

But the same cannot be said for the ladies. Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston have probably been on a diet regime, but Courteney Cox has shown the most amount of facial variation. Not sure if it’s the botox or she went under a knife, but she has lost that charm and appeal. Not being judgemental here, merely observing!

Among the highlights of the 100+ minute encounter was a short ramp walk towards the end, with a whole lot of celebrities prancing around in some popular costumes worn by the characters in the TV series. And talking about celebrities, we also get to see soccer stars and Nobel prize winners endorse the series. It has been their go-to show when they were on tours or feeling low, as per their own admission.

One of the most interesting part of the documentary style interaction, was the casting. The writers took us through the casting process and what they were looking for, in each of the characters and how they found their six main characters. Another remarkable segment was about how iconic the show Friends has been; the way it has helped people get through tough times like sadness and depression, how it has helped people in certain part of the globe to learn English, and the manner in which it brought camaraderie to the forefront and taught people to love and support their friends and how it has helped to break cultural barriers.

Coming to the interview itself, which was shot next to the fountain of the theme song, was one of the most uninteresting interviews ever. James Corden asked the regular questions about most and least favourite episodes, what was it like working together etc. Some histrionics from the show was replayed and some characters of the show like Gunther and Mr. Heckles made brief blink-and-you-miss appearances. Yes, it was quite sad that they did not even have two minutes to acknowledge them. And among the honorable misses were Paul Rudd, Giovanni Ribisi, Jon Favreau and many more such fantastic actors who were present in more than a few episodes; sometimes entire season.

What I would have liked to know, through James, was how the rest of the five reacted when they got to know that a TV series Joey was being made with the spin-off character from Friends. Were they fine with it, or jealous, or did they demand spin-offs of their own like Ross & Rachel or The Bings with Chandler, Monica and their kids or Buffay Babes with Phoebe and her twin sister! James should have asked about the pay disparity and how Ross fought for equal remuneration and in last two seasons, everyone got paid a million dollar per episode, largely due to his efforts. Maybe, James could have broached some controversial topic to have their reaction when they got to know of the lawsuit regarding the writers room talks brought out by the assistant writer of the show. Yes, some uncomfortable questions should have been asked.

However, even without the above, it’s a must watch for the fans of the show. There are some lump-in-the-throat moments and fun trivia too. The warmth they share is infectious and the closeness of Ross & Rachel will bring a tear to the eyes, as Jennifer & David talk about their proximity towards each other. Lots of ROFL moments, as they take us down memory lane with snippets from the show and few bloopers.

Anyways, the reunion wasn’t meant to reload hysteria. It was probably just a PR event to remind us of the hysteria, as people’s taste changes with time and they tend to like the newer shows like How I Met Your Mother or Big Bang Theory. This reunion was a reminder that, before these hit shows, there was Friends and that nostalgia should remain intact!

As for our reunion, I don’t see that happening. We will have to probably contend ourselves with reliving some of the moments from Friends show, and feel good about it. Or maybe, plan an online reunion over zoom, as that’s the new normal. We cannot afford to fly out and sit on a couch with coffee in our hands at Central Perk.

 

Stowaway (2021): Space, Time & Moral Dilemma

This was first published on MadAboutMoviez: Stowaway

I had read couple of accounts in newspaper of how stowaways used to cling onto the wheels of the airplane or hide someplace in the cargo containers of ships, and sometimes in toilets; just to escape from whatever they have been facing. It was never for thrill of it, but always for a specific need like illegal emigration to better pastures.

I had never imagined that there could be a stowaway in a spacecraft. And this movie delves into one such situation when MTS-42 is on a 2 year mission to Mars. The spaceship has 3 crew members, Marina is the commander, Zoe is a medical researcher and David is a biologist; and they have been handpicked for this mission.

Soon after launch, when the crew members are settling down and doing a recce of the space vehicle, Marina notices drops of blood on the floor. She finds that the CDRA [Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly] unit is the source of it. On carefully opening the unit, she finds Michael, a stowaway, who is badly hurt and bleeding.

Michael has no recollection of how he got there, but he had no intention of being part of the crew or the journey. It points to some sort of scuffle and him getting forcibly pushed into that small unit. Michael recuperates while Zoe befriends him and explains how they are currently in space. And he cannot just go back home, anytime soon. Marina contacts the base station to know more about Michael and check if he poses any threats. As it turns out, they too had no such knowledge of a stowaway.

Due to this freak incident, the CDRA system gets damaged and non-functional and that causes a new problem. The amount of oxygen remaining in the aircraft isn’t sufficient for the now “four” member crew. Marina suggests that David “science the shit out of this” and try to manufacture some oxygen. But they also needed a backup plan. This brings us the moral dilemma that, even if David succeeds in manufacturing some oxygen, it may not be enough and one of them has to sacrifice their life. Who would be willing to do so, and save the mission? Obvious choice seems to be Michael, since he was the unintended participant, but can the crew come up with any other plan which would save the mission as well as their lives.

The movie is very interesting in most parts. Toni Collette as Marina is completely in her elements as the commander of the ship and a concerned crew member. Since its her call, it gives Toni more room to revel in the character, playing the good as well as the tough part. Anna Kendrick as Zoe is breezy, and she forms the glue that makes the team stick. She makes Michael feel at ease, after his harrowing experience as the stowaway. She sides up with Michael and explains to David as to why they should think of another solution, rather than having to sacrifice a life. Her presence has a calming effect on all characters.

Shamier Anderson, as the titular character, on whom the movie is set, plays the most difficult part. His role begins with a rude shock when he is discovered stuffed away in CDRA unit, then he goes through a healing process, and finally when he begins to open-up and mingle with the team, he is informed of the lack of oxygen in the craft and how someone needs to take responsibility and make a sacrifice.

Joe Penna, as director of the movie, has extracted good performances from all the actors. Thanks to previous movies on Mars mission, Interstellar, Arrival, Gravity etc, this movie is not burdened with showing the setup, crew selection, prep for take-off etc. The movie easily slips into the main story within minutes of take-off. The dialogs are few, but the background score more than makes up for it.

What interested me more, was the fact that the current covid situation which has pushed people to rush to hospitals due to breathlessness and make arrangements for their own oxygen cylinders, since the establishment is unable to do so, and how this movie also talks about oxygen shortage! Of course there is no messaging that’s been inserted or any metaphor. But our fight with coronavirus hit me instantly, and I could identify with the helplessness and the desperation for saving a life and survival. It makes the movie into an existential crisis, and we can feel that to the bones. Watch the movie to know what it feels like being helpless, gasping for breath and how some decisions can impact others lives.

 

Radhe (2021): Old Wine in an Even Older Bottle

Review first published in portal MadAboutMoviez: Radhe

Some stars have made careers out of making “masala” entertainers, like Rajnikanth, Mithun, Akshay to some extent; and audiences don’t really care for reviews or others opinions on their movies, since they want to watch unadulterated entertainment. Our most wanted bhai’s movie, also falls in this category.

Of course, in last 5 years, Salman has given us some very watchable movies like Sultan, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Bharat, Tiger Zinda Hai etc; but these are few and far in-between. Rest of the other movies like Kick, Race3, Dabanng series are just money making ventures, and everyone involved knows it.

Coming to Radhe, this movie works more as a sequel to 2009 movie “Wanted”, where Salman played the cop Rajveer, who goes undercover as Radhe. In this movie, he is known to be a no-nonsense cop with 97 encounters to his credit. And he seems to be the only cop who can cleanup Mumbai.

So, we are back in the 1990s and 2000s when drug business was notoriously handled by cartels. In movies like Sarkar, it was shown, how an outsider comes with the idea of dealing in drug while the crime syndicate had limited themselves to kidnap, extortion, and hafta-vasooli. Similarly, Rana makes his entry in a new city to start drug distribution. They don’t show the source of the drugs, from where its coming, and how the cash is being handled, because they don’t want the innocent audience to worry about the business model.  Just take it that, drugs are being used heavily by teenagers. How they are lured into, also goes unanswered. So, we should assume that it’s like Lay’s chips and no one can eat just one.

Rana is ruthless in his approach, has no business ethics, no morality, and definitely no life. He works day and night from dingy locations, so he has no taste for finer experiences of life too. His only aim is to expand his business, but for no apparent reason. No one knows what the big hurry is. If he is suffering from chronic disease that needs cure or some other ailment. That’s a secret, and even the writers had no clue.

So, enter Radhe into the frame, who is exact opposite of Rana. He has a life, is flirtatious, aspiring model, and employed with police department. He has a chance meeting with Diya whom he befriends, unknowingly his boss, ACP Avinash’s younger sister. ACP Avinash is in all his elements as he manages to bring out the inner Johnny Lever in him. A bumbling senior who doesn’t command the respect of his officers, but is bereft of this critical piece of info, since the director hid it from him. So, poor chap puts in a lot of effort, not knowing that in a Salman movie, it will go unnoticed.

Anyways, after few flirtatious sessions, Radhe & Diya are all set to tell the three magical words: Lights, Camera, Action! That’s the clarion call for the climax when all hell breaks loose, and Radhe chases down Rana for the final showdown as he begins the Swachh Bharat movement.

Jackie Shroff as ACP Avinash has the most amount of fun, without sharing any responsibility. He just ambles his way in and out, without any commitment; and that’s how serious his role is. Disha Patani as Diya is like a Russian doll who does exactly what she is meant to do, be decorative, sweet looking, naïve and a bit frivolous. She plays her part well, coming from that small cameo she had in Bharat, she gets to do a little bit more than that in Radhe.

Salman as Radhe is phenomenal, as he sings, dances with Jacqueline in an item number, advices his colleagues about duty, beats up the goons, romances Diya, and becomes hero of the common man. For an actor to carry the movie on his ageing shoulder is no mean feat. But he is ably supported by Randeep Hooda who moonwalks through the show. His raw action sequences, straight out of the 2017 Korean movie “The Outlaws” from which this movie was remade, is gritty. Hooda’s gait and style, his hairdo and the long overcoat, just adds to that invincible feeling of the character Rana, he is playing.

Another thing going for the movie is its length, which is at a merciful 105 minutes only. Its not stretched out needlessly, which means, the director Prabhudeva and his team have made a concerted effort to end the movie before the audience wears out. After all, too much of bhai can be injurious to mental health.

Its old wine, in even older bottle, but the label is brand new. Chalo, whatever is there, is just entertainment. SEETIMAAR !!!

 

The Ghost Writer : Polanski’s Political Thriller

I have always wondered how a blogger or a lyricist or a screenwriter feels, when their work is out in the public, but they get no credit for it. No, I am not talking about their work being plagiarised. I was referring tho the fact that, there are many anonymous artists who sell their work to better known artists; those works get publicised and win accoldaes. But the original artist only gets his renumeration, maybe paid by the hour, and manages to keep the kitchen fire burning. How does it feel to be a ghost-painter or a ghost-lyricist or a ghost writer, in this case!

The movie, of course, is not about that. Far from it, the movie is a fantastic political thriller. The protagonist, Ewan McGregor, agrees to ghost-write an autobiography of the ex-PM of UK. Adam Lang, the ex-PM played by Pierce Brosnan, is in the process of getting his autobiography published. But his manuscript needs some work to be done, to make it presentable and interesting.

Adam Lang did have a ghost-writer, Mike McAra, but he was found dead, one fine morning. Lang has led an interesting life and his political career has been marked by some very unusual decisions taken during office. And that’s what needs to be captured before people lose interest in him; and so the novel has to be out within 4 weeks. Its more of a financial gain that we are talking about. What gives McGreggor an edge is the fact that he is not politically active, so he can unravel a few facts about Lang whoch could interest the readers. Step-in, McGreggor, who agrees to ghost-write it in 4 weeks for an amount of 10 million dollars, not knowing that his predecessor was actually killed.

McGreggor reaches the secluded whereabouts of Langs residence, somewhere on east coast on USA, and is shown around by his beautiful secretary Amelia with whom Lang shares a special camaraderie of over 8 years. So, Ewan begins the homework by interviewing Lang and asking him about his passion and how he landed into politics. It was a well known fact that Lang was a Cambridge student and much intersted in dramatics. Then, how did politics happen to him!

These questions are too uncomfortable for Lang, as he does not want to discuss that. All he wants his ghost-writer to capture is Lang – the politician, and not Lang – the dramatist. Anyways, McGreggor’s curiosity gets the better of him. He starts snooping around the house and even tries to take the manuscript out of the tightly secured room so he can write in leisure.

But his efforts all go in vain. And as McGreggor finishes reading the manuscript, he realises that there is way too much work to be done in 4 weeks. And Lang’s mood swings and his strained relationship with his wife was not helping McGreggor. He was not sure why Lang and his wife, Ruth, could not get along with each other, but he was too scared to ask Lang.

He slowly gets to know Mrs.Lang, who makes him feel really comfortable. She is more of a reluctant speaker and less of an outgoing person. But what strikes McGreggor about her, is the insecurities that she faces. It almost seems like they are a normal couple where the wife complains about the hubby’s beautiful secretary always being by his side. And she isn’t getting much attention or the love and affection that she deserves.

Things start moving quickly as McGreggor moves into the room where his predecessor was put-up. And here he finds some very incriminating photographs and artifacts that paint a totally different picture of Lang. It becomes more important than ever, to disclose Lang’s past even as he is accused of siding with America on the handover of suspected terrorists to USA; while he was in office. The pressure from the human rights activists mount over Lang as they want him to be tried in the court for war crimes. Lang decides to fly across the Pacific to douse the fire.

This gives McGreggor the right opportunity to do some investigation/research. But he is caught in a spot of bother as he goes about his detection work and the timelines press on. Its a movie that keeps you on the edge of the seat as he takes the SUV to interview some of the people mentioned in Lang’s manuscript. He endangers his own life knowing very well that if and when the book is out, he would get no credit for it. Maybe a small footnote or a mention somewhere, but not the credit of co-writing it.

Any movie on politics is fraught with danger of getting too boring or too involved in people rather than events. But this movie is evenly balanced as it discusses people and events together. It takes us through Lang’s life without getting stuck on details or over-emphasizing on minor issues. The writers have done a wonderful job to keep the screenplay tight and the dialogues crisp. The movie does slow down a bit, in the middle portion, but soon picks up pace again.

The director of the movie, Roman Polanski, has handled the movie with very firm grip. He does not let it slip even for a moment. The emotional moments and the sobbing is not overdone, and the suspense is maintained throughout. We are always with the ghost-writer and never lose track of the purpose of the movie. Its to the director’s credit that he has extracted excellent performances from everyone.

Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGreggor are mature actors, nevertheless, they need to be told what is to be done. And that, they do very well. Brosnan’s outrage as well his romanticsim is very natural. Lang’s affection for his secretary and ignorance of his wife, comes across a fine character sketch of the man that Brosnan portrays. So, is Ewan’s fear of the unknown and his sense of urgency. We feel it for every moment, how his life is in danger.

The book does get published finally, but at what cost is to be seen. And wait to see how McGreggor is rewarded for his work. He leads an existence of no consequence, and the movie shows what happens when people try to unveil what’s behind the curtains. A ghost writer lives in anonymity, forever.

This post was also published on MadAboutMoviez

 

It’s Love In Bihar

There have been many occasions when I have walked past playgrounds on my way to home. And quite a few times I have been fascinated by the children playing a game of cricket or football. Maybe it reminds me of the good old days or maybe I just need to relax a bit, whatever it is, I just stand and watch the game. For no reason, no entertainment, no gains as such; just killing time. I would not have anything to do at home either, so why not just stand and watch. The game gives me no joy, no fulfillment, serves no purpose and yet I while away my time. Say 15-20 mins or half an hour, not much. That amount of time goes unaccounted for!

Watching this movie, and many other movies in the past, have been of such experience. The movie just goes on and on, like the games that I watch. It fails to entertain, its not meant to leave an impact, its not subject based; its just like passing the ball from one foot to another without scoring a goal.

The players are good, Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor and the promising Anand Tiwari whom I last saw in Aisha. We have a newcomer Sita Spada and quite a few character actors who have played their part ok, but not good enough. The entire team seems uninspired and the slow story telling does not help at all.

The movie is set in Bihar, but it could have been set anywhere. We have a firang, Sita Spada, who wishes to visit Madhubani in Darbhanga, Bihar. The reason for the visit is to study the paintings from that region, as that is a subject of her research. But that’s such a lame excuse for a tourist visit because Sapna, the firang, does not even seem to know about Kali vanquishing a demon under her feet and she hasn’t seen the painting of Lord Shiva before. These things are supposed to be elementary, especially if you want us to believe that someone comes such a long way to do research!

Keshu, played by Anand Tiwari, is son of a truck driver. Some background info on Keshu now. He is rusticated from college because he helped his friends in an exam. The question paper was tough, but he did not help them copy answers. He did the next best thing, he just eased the tension by spreading laughing gas. Second worst use of NO2 in a movie, first worst being Housefull.

The moment Keshu sees Sapna, you know what’s going to happen; the flow of hormones triples in the body. The movie just drags along like a slow push cart, as you know where the cart is heading for. And that’s when two twists occur within a span of 10 minutes. I will tell you about the twist, as I believe that, the twist may push you  into wathcing the movie; else there is no reason. The push cart now wishes to fly like a jet, but not on wooden wheels please!

Firstly, just when Keshu thinks of proposing to Sapna, her boyfriend arrives. Keshu is heart-broken as he watches them smooch. But even before she gets to spend fun time with her boyfriend and even before Keshu starts sulking, Sapna gets kidnapped. The small scale industry in UP-Bihar kicks in, to grab their space on-screen !

What happens next is anybody’s guess, but how it happens, keeps you engaged. The last half of the movie is much better than the first half. With Vinay and Rajat in the starcast, I was hoping for some good comedy and maybe a revival of the ‘Bheja Fry’ times. But no! Vinay Pathak as a drunk hawaldaar who has not had a single permosion in his job, takes up the kidnapping case to redeem himself. And Rajat Kapoor as the ‘unfortunate’ DSP of the district isn’t very good either.

The dialogues are very pedestrian and the movie is predictable in most parts. The only credible bit was the dialect and the lingo; it was consistent and everyone spoke it well. But the biggest problem is with the story telling. The direction is a slack job! The movie could have been better, if they had avoided the cliches and if the writing had been a little better. But, I guess, jo dooba, so dooba.

This post was also published on MadAboutMoviez

 

Tell Me O Khuda

Its so true that if you don’t learn from past mistakes, you will end up repeating them. Easier said than done, because every time we make an effort in the hope that the result would be different and positive, it only drags us back into muddy waters of the past.

About two decades ago, I was standing in a queue for movie tickets of a Shahrukh Khan and Divya Bharti starrer. It was their 2nd movie, after the blockbuster Deewana. And I was at Orient theatre in Calcutta, hoping that the tickets don’t sell-out before I get to the window. The movie was Dil Aashna Hai, first directorial venture of Hema Malini. But that did not matter at all, as I was there to see Divya and SRK.

The movie was a multi-starrer with Dimple Kapadia, Amrita Singh, Jeetendra, Mithun and Kabir Bedi. It was supposed to be a suspense drama wherein Divya Bharti, an adopted child who becomes a bar dancer, is out to find her real parents and the reason for abandoning her. SRK loves Divya, inspite of her profession, and wants to help her in this noble cause. This new purpose of life takes her to three doorsteps of rich wealthy couples who have a good standing in society. But will any of the high society couples disclose their past, and not just that, but also accept her as their daughter? That’s where the story meanders and becomes episodic in nature. Needless to say, the movie bombed at the BO. I felt cheated but I still remember the day.

So, after two decades, neither has Hema Malini learnt her lesson nor I. She is still walking around with the same story and to re-tell it once more, in the hope of finding a new audience who might be willing to appreciate it or even watch it. And I still end up becoming an audience for her movie.

As we get into the movie, TMOK, we quickly realize that the movie is a CLV for Esha Deol. You maye have heard of GSLV(Geosynchronous Satellite Launch vehicle) and PSLV (Polar SLV). So, this is a Career Launch Vehicle for her. Most star kids have just a single shot at the launch vehicle, but quite a few privileged ones have multiple shots at it. So, its kind of re-launch, but that would sound demeaning; so lets settle for “launch”.

The point is, she is in every frame of the movie; even when its not required. And she is doing everything, and that too in a good way and not goofing it up! So, she is a successful writer [a la Chetan Bhagat but in female disguise], a good camel racer (she wins the camel race in Rajasthan and dedicates it to the Girl Child), she is mind healer who also doubles up as a psychiatrist because the producer was running out of money since she spent too much on getting Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna on board, and Esha also makes a don from Goa cry like a baby. Yes, she finally made Dharam paji cry on her failure to launch all by herself that she needed the entire family support.

I think they unnecessarily squeezed in Johnny Lever to play a comic side-kick who works in a municipality ward of a hospital that burnt down during the great fire of 1986. Unnecessary because the movie had a lot of unintentional laughs, but I guess no one had a good sense of humour to see that. Arjan Bajwa, a supposedly nice friend who helps Esha in the cause of finding her parents, has to bear with her and cross-dress and live in guest houses and carry a ring around, while Esha prances from one household to another. And if this was not enough, he had another side-kick; so a side-kick to a side-kick. That makes it double the kick for the audience!

Anyways, finally after 2.25 hours of pain and agony and suffering and small bursts of unintentional laughs, the audience is finally relieved when the end credit rolls. Not sure if people waited that long, so let me do a small social service and declare that Salman Khan was there in an item song when credit rolled. But tragically, that screen space was eaten up by Esha too. I warned you earlier, she was in every frame!

On hindsight, I think Hema Malini’s first attempt with DAH was much better than TMOK. I am not mocking now, duh! This has been an expensive mistake and not the best way to learn a small lesson. Hopefully, both of us, Hema and I, will not repeat this; ever again. Hopefully!

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Soundtrack : Chand Raahein, Ek Manzil

A pitcher plant is a strange shrub, its carnivorous. Who could imagine that an inocuous looking plant could eat up an insect. Thanks to its pitfall traps and the complex solution within, it engulfs an insect and bathes it in the mucilage and sucks the nutrients. Thereby, totally dissolving it and gaining nourishment out of it.

In the movie, Raunak Kaul is the insect which falls prey to the glamourous life of a successful DJ. Music is his calling as he joins Tango-Charlie nightclub and showcases his talent with remix of a sufi song Fakira which is his own creation. The success is followed by mucilage of drinks and babes and drugs; and he drowns in the pitfall as success goes to his head. And like a pithcer plant, the bad habits pull him in and refuses to release him.

As he goes down the path of drug abuse and trance music, his hearing power keeps reducing and it comes to a point that he turns deaf. The ENT specialist advises him to remain in an isolated environment and no deafening sound should reach the thin walls of his ears. Raunak has something which other insects don’t, that’s will power and self belief. Raunak’s will-power pushes him to lock himself in a room and insulate it with cushion. But the damage is already done.

Anyhow, he pulls himself together and his self belief sets him on a new journey. This phase of his life is about ablution, washing away the sins of his past. As he begins treading on this new path, to interact with the world again, he realises how badly he abused his sense organ. This is almost like the rebirth of the insect who is now aware of the viciousness of the pitcher plant.

The director, Neerav Ghosh, has a big vision of dealing with a different subject, although inspired. There are lots of references to Beethoven, the genius who composed music even after doing deaf. So, you can easily guess where the movie is going and what could be the conclusion. But the screenplay has been cleverly written; it keeps you engaged. It also gives you the feel of watching a documentary or a biography, as DJ Aqeel and Anurag  Kashyap speak about Raunak as being the next best thing to have happened to the music scene. But the movie is let down by some mediocre dialogues; the writing could have been better. Neerav has previously written ‘Mithya’ which wasn’t a bad first-attempt.

For a movie based on sounds and music, it was important that the soundtrack be good.  And Medieval Punditz deliver on this front. From the first scene where Raunak walks into the city, he is accompanied by varied background noises which is actually music to ears. There is sound all around us, and that’s emphasized very well. But the consistency was missing as the DJ act started breaking down soon after Fakira song.

‘What the eff is going on’ song is just a catchy phrase, not backed by a strong vocal or music arrangement. I was reminded of LSD, where the song ‘I can’t hold it any longer’  worked very well because of the attitude in the voice of Sneha Khanwilkar and the energy that she put in the song. The background score was ok, but the last song redeems the movie with ‘Chand  Rahein Ek Manzil’ Ho song.

The movie has a nice cameo by Soha Ali Khan, who is a nice refreshing change. And Mohan Kapoor has done a good job as well. But its Rajeev all the way. The last song, mentioned above, could well be the story of the main lead Rajeev Khandelwal who plays Raunak. He has been very choosy about his movies. He started his career with Aamir and followed it up with Shaitan; and now this. He is trying different things, and I wish him all the luck as I wait for Peter Gaya Kaam Se.

Do watch the movie if you get a chance.

This post was also published on MadAboutMoviez

 

Dosti Vs Fraaandship

About 9 years ago, in 2002, Yashraj released an out-dated romantic movie garbed as a youthful watch and titled it ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’! Of course, no one befriended the movie. Quite the opposite, the audience ran away from the theatres.

The movie had high production value, great starcast, not-so-bad story idea. But damn! gobi ke parathe had more prominence than Hrithik Roshan. The movie was just for TRP (Tina, Raj & Pooja) and their silly banters. I shall spare you the details because I would rather hope that you watch and suffer as I did.

Anyways, the idea of a identity mismatch, especially due to human design and not technical glitch, is an old one. So, Pooja interacts with Raj, using Tina’s email id while Raj presumes its Tina who is showering him with love, care and concern. Raj falls in love with Tina, without knowing that it’s Pooja who should be receiving his attention. It takes about 2.5 hrs and a Uday Chopra to get the entire confusion sorted out. So, that was Dosti  in 2002 when orkut was not in yet or may have been in nascent stages.

In 2011, Dosti mysteriously becomes Fraaandship! And believe me, there is no Punjabi character in the movie except for rockstar Rahul Sareen. Preity is besotted with Rahul and loves the idea of falling in love with him, after the rock concert that she attends.

On the other side of the fence is Vishal who loved Malvika’s peppy nature and the way she flambouyantly stepped on the stage with Rahul and shook a leg. Since Malvika would never fall for someone like him, Vishal uses Rahul’s FB account to send Malvika a friend request. Malvika, of course, thinks that Rahul is being a little too desperate and does not want to entertain that fraaandship request. But Preity accepts the request, behind her back.

Vishal and Preity get chatty and spend time online. This of course leads to a lot of confusion, especially when they ask each other out on behalf of their friends, makes for a fun watch. And the college cat fights are also entertaining. It shows us how youtube and FB has taken over the college lives and how fast and easy the communication has gotten. Vishal, in his monologue towards the end, says that people become friends at the speed of mbps and break-ups happen at the flash of a logout. So, movies based on college life show everything but attending classes. Students while away their time clinging on to their cellphones and hangout in the cafeteria. Its not a canteen anymore, and there are no teachers!

The only teaching staff that we ever see is Mita Vasisht, who puts the students on a project for preparation of 25th anniversary celebrations. That’s the only backbone to the entire story of the movie. The dialogue and screenplay keeps the movie together. And a running time of just over 90 minutes does help, especially in this ADD generation.

Vishal and Preity share a love-hate-love relationship, as they don’t seem too fond of each other in the college campus. But their assignment is quite interesting and brings them together. In the future, I am sure that quite a few colleges are going to copy this idea for their anniversary celebrations.

Now, how this Fraaandship compares to Dosti is very interesting. While in 2002, TRP behaved like they were in the 1960’s, in 2011 the kids behave like they are in 2011! That’s the biggest difference. The dialogues have been written very well and the direction is spot-on. Nupur has done what Kunal could not do; she has extracted a good performance from the actors. Rahul Sareen was no Hrithik, but he did look and act like a college boy who takes a girl out to a sports-bar! Preity was not trying to out-do Rani Mukherjee, but her vulnerability and frustration were played out well. Malvika was no Kareena, but she was beautiful in her own way. Tara D’souza was good even in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, will have to watch out for her. And Vishal was probably just being himself, funny and spiffy. I am sure all these actors will be seen in a movie soon, of course not in the same movie. But they all do have potential and will be cast by others too.

All in all, a nice watch; a very good timepass. I am impressed with Y-films and what Aditya Chopra is doing with it. His themes don’t change, the characters remain sane and predictable and yet the youthfulness shows through. I liked the way ‘Luv Ka The End’ was made; although it was a copy, it was done well. And now this. Y-Films is definitely able to feel the pulse of the audience and are giving them what they want. Sweet entertainers, youthful yet sensible, romantic yet not a tear-jerker, laughs and smiles yet not a no-brainer, old fashioned and yet in sync with times. Wish Fraaandship was spelt as Friendship, though!

This post was also published on MadAboutMoviez