The Ugly, Slimy Miss Lovely...!!!

There are certain movies that makes you feel terrible and drained out and filthy. You desperately need a bath after watching them. They are unpleasant affairs, with difficult subjects and not ready to sugar coat their intentions...

Miss Lovely is one such movie. It is about the C-grade Hindi movie industry scene in 80s and tells the story of two brothers whose business is to shoot cheap horror movies mixed with sleazy glamorous soft porn scenes. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the reluctant younger brother who, after meeting a beautiful girl and falling in love is desperate to make a romantic film. To do this, he has to break away from his dominating brother and it turns out to be an impossible task.

Miss Lovely is shot in a style and tone very similar to the cheap movies it is about. It contains very less exposition about its characters or their motives. It switches its genre effortlessly to crime thriller, noir, romance and an indulgent art movie. This switching of style can be a turn off for lot of viewers.

Miss Lovely is not a movie for all. It needs a certain tolerance and understanding of art to fully appreciate it... and lot of patience.

The Stoneman Murders: Dangerous, Noirish Nights

In 1980s there were a series of murders that occurred in Mumbai, then Bombay. Street dwellers- beggers and homeless persons who slept on footpath were killed using a heavy stone. The police were never able to solve them. Some years later, these kind of murders started in Calcutta. The media termed the incident Stoneman Murders, due to the usage of heavy stones as weapon. The police again failed to convict anyone.

Debutant Manish Gupta adapted the case into a suspense thriller titled The Stoneman Murders in 2009. The movie failed to generate any hype though was loved by critics. I wanted badly to watch it then, but soon had all forgotten about it. Last day, I happened to watch it, and it turned out to be a great experience.

K K Menon shoulders the movie with a fabulous performance as a disgraced policeman whose last chance to continue being one, is to solve this case. He is supported by a strictly adequate supporting cast led by Arbaaz Khan. Soon K K is on the brink of losing his sanity over the tough case. Will his persistence and diligence bring results?

The highlight of the movie is the cat and mouse chase between the killer and the officer, the killer being always one step ahead. It also helps that the protagonist is depicted as a questionable character with noble intentions, but rather unconventional method of investigation. K K exudes intense obsession and ruthlessness. The dark atmosphere that pervades the screen for most of the running time of the movie and its ominous score, builds up great suspense.

The resolution of the mystery, I felt was a bit disappointing. Another turn off was the actress who played wife of the protagonist. She was a sore thump in acting department. But the noirish setting and an atmosphere that screams danger every moment, along with an astounding performance of K K makes this worth a watch,

Mukti Bhawan: A story about death that teaches to live...

Mukti Bhawan is a lodge in Varanasi, on the banks of river Ganga, that facilitates the last days of elderly, who are ready to embrace their death. An old man realises his time has come and decides to live his last days there. But his decision forces his son to reluctantly take leave from his job and accompany him. This movie details their stay together at Mukti Bhawan.

A movie that's about death and the last days of people is expected to be bleak and depressing. But, surprisingly Mukti Bhawan or Hotel Salvation, as it is known internationally, neither. The movie, though having a laid back and leisurely pace, is vibrant and embraces life. It gives reassurance to its viewers that though death is a certainty, it is not something to be scared of. On the contrary, impending death is something that gives value to your life. The movie that starts off as a celebration of death, culminates into making a case to live our lives fully.

The movie, as I mentioned before, is slow, but interspersed with subtle comedy. The characters whom the father-son duo encounter are very real people. But it makes us feel that each of them are special in a unique way. It turns out to be a life changing lesson for the father and son. Their stay in Mukti Bhawan makes them to know each other more. The son gets to know the value of his life and his family. The father realises that though he has faltered as a father, he has made peace with it and still can prepare for his demise as a content person.

Jolly Good LLB 2

I didn't watch the first part of Jolly LLB starring Arshad Warsi. But I've heard pretty good reviews of the movie. The second part was a bit controversial when the makers decided to cast Akshay as the lead and up the stakes. Fans of the first movie were pretty vocal about this decision, but Arshad decided to stand with the director.

I am not in a position to comment about the differences between them, but the second part is a good one time watch. It tackles a serious issue in a semi serious manner, satires the legal system in a healthy way without getting preachy and never loses focus. The story is nothing new or original. But the narration is thankfully devoid of clutter.

For a change Akshay never try to go overboard with comedy or action, even with ample opportunities present. That decision turned out to be a wise one. It is the supporting cast who does a great job. Even the minor ones deserve a pat on their backs. The moments to watch out happens between the judge, played by Saurabh Shukla and the opposite lawyer played by Annu Kapoor.

(Na)Kaabil: Short of Expectations

Just like this week's other release Raees, Kaabil serves its audience a generous dose of worn out clichés. The movie tried to blend the revenge plot of Mohra with the logic of Aankhen (the Akshay starrer). But it failed to replicate the raw energy of the former or the smartness of the latter. Story follows a blind man who avenge his blind wife's death.

The treatment reminds you of movies that used to be made 20 years back. At that time, makers never worried about viewers questioning plot holes. (Spoilers ahead) Sanjay Gupta is in an illusion that time hasn't changed. His hero kills a guy after a bloody fight, drops a towel on the dead body and boasts not leaving an evidence for police. The fact is that there are enough finger and DNA prints lying around and the proof of crime is just short of a red banner with Hrithik's name, address and Aadhar number printed on it being displayed on the spot. For Sanjay Gupta's policemen, forensic science is a very foreign science.

The movie is a good show case of Hrithik Roshan. He displays wit and vulnerability in equal measure without much bother about the catastrophe that the plot is leading to. He is the saving grace of Kaabil. The supporting cast were really good, but never get any chance to shine. I hated the acting of heroine and her appearances in the second half of the movie. Misplaced songs were another spoil sport.

There were several scenes that really stimulated my interest. I was expecting that from that point, things are going to pick up. But unfortunately it was not to be. The scenes that hero exacts his revenge is supposed to be the backbone of the movie. The build up towards them were genuinely interesting, but at the time that matters, we find that our hero doesn't have any semblance of a plan with him. Somehow by luck things fall in place. The title of the movie should ideally be Khush-kismat (Lucky).

Raees And The Fall...

Raees is a gangster movie and comes generously packed with all the regular clichés of the genre. There are very few elements that we never watched before in better movies. The film makers were able to execute some of them successfully while sadly certain elements remain sore thumps.

Raees is the story of the rise and fall of a spirit smuggler who loves to call himself a business man. Set in Gujarat, the movie is based on alcohol prohibition. It shows us what happens when availability of a commodity is made scarce by legally banning it among a group of people who have the reputation of the biggest business minded ones. Raees has an ingenious business mentality and a daring criminal mentality. He scales the ranks effortlessly. The spoilsport is an officer named Majumdar who is hell bend on taking him out.

As I told, the plot just follows the worn out path of countless other mafia flicks. The difference is the characterisation of the protagonist. In other movies either the guy is forced to a life of crime by circumstances or is a born criminal. In Raees, the lead character had no such compulsions. Any doubt of a strain of criminality running in his blood is soon quelled by scenes showing his compassion. As per him, he is doing business and he will do whatever is good for business.

Though initially we see Raees turning around some situations to his advantage by some quick thinking, that part of the plot soon dries out. I was disappointed because that was what fascinated me in the beginning. The second best thing in the movie are the confrontations of Shahrukh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Both actors shows off their best in those moments and the makers have included a lot of impressive combination scenes. 

No other supporting characters put up any remarkable show and are content with being perfectly good fillers. I have an issue with the action scenes. Recent Hindi movies had some amazing action sequences. But in Raees fights appear shoddy. The songs also break the pace of the movie and contribute little to the plot. 

If we put aside the matter that this is just a movie and meant for enjoyment, Raees put forward some serious doubts. Is it healthy to show a man doing illegal business by selling banned and spurious products that can harm the health of public, being a hero of the society? There are many movies that deals with the same subject including the great Godfather. But that movie never wanted the audience sympathising with the guy. He was a corrupt and bad man, who nevertheless had certain ethical codes and stood by it. Though audience loved him and gets sad when things go rough, they feel that whatever bad deal the person got, he deserved it. The same is the case with its Indian clones like Nayagan, Sathya or Once Upon A Time in Mumbai. 

What Raees tries to do is to emotionally manipulate the viewer into rooting for the bad guy. It seemed unnatural for me. I lost it when they showed him bash up violently an anti-alcohol possession (that was led by a corrupt politician) just because it was harmful for his business. It was okay if they left it like that. But what made it worse was the pathetic justifications that came afterwards. 

Though the makers have denied it, Raees is based on an actual criminal from Gujarat. Just a look at his biography in Wikipedia will confirm the parallels. This person was responsible for supplying RDX for Mumbai blasts. Raees team includes this also in the story and justifies it as a mistake. And to make it worse, he is given secular credentials. An antihero movie can be interesting if the power of judgement lies with the audience. Otherwise it is just manipulative...

My Praise For Dangal....

Manipulation of viewer's emotions is one of the major yardstick of success for Indian movies, particularly Bollywood films. That is also one way they escape from the clutches of logic and laws of physics. If your movie make viewers overtly emotional- make them cry, laugh, be angry or anything else other than think, you have a winner on your hand.

Aamir Khan is one movie maker (I would say movie maker because, as he involves in the production of his movies too, he definitely is a decision maker in the process) who is the master of manipulation games as evident from his movies like Lagaan and Taare Zameen Par. I am not demeaning him by this statement, I am being positive. His major achievement is that people expect something different every time his new film is announced. He delivers consistently by making movies with unique themes that also entertains because their structure doesn't vary from other standard Bollywood movies. Audience feel that they are watching something fresh, at the same time they are still in very much their familiar territory.

His latest movie Dangal is not different. I don't want to go into details about the movie itself. But it is a standard Aamir Khan fare- it's about a social issue, it entertains you a lot, it is well made in technical and artistic fronts, Aamir does a brilliant job and the same time ensures that his co-actors get meaty parts themselves, thereby backing his performance.

But my praise for the movie is for another matter. If you remember Aamir's movie Taare Zameen Par, which is about the proper upbringing of kids, you will be astonished to find that this movie portrays something extremely opposite. The easiest way out for the makers was to cover it up beautifully in emotions so that we won't identify this discrepancy.

But here their choice was to show it off by making Aamir's character a bit in grey shade and his behaviour bordering on child abuse. It adds another dimension to the movie. And that is why I feel the movie should be praised, along with several other positives. It gives an opportunity for the viewer to think.

Dear Zindagi

"Don't let your past blackmail your present to ruin a beautiful future."

Dear Zindagi is the best Hindi movie that I watched in recent times. The fact was that I expected it to be boring when I heard the synopsis first. I felt it would be another usual, silly, childish Bollywood rom-com. But I was interested to see what Gauri Shinde could bring on the table after being impressed with her previous movie, the effective English-Vinglish.

Dear Zindagi is the story of Kaira who has serious emotional issues with her love life. She's attracted to men and falls in love with them, but is afraid of commitment. Thus she's in and out of a string of relationships hurting herself and her clueless boyfriends. Her friends are perplexed and parents are confused and things hit rock-bottom when her professional life crumples in the process.

Jobless and homeless, she's forced to shift to Goa, her parent's place, whom she can't bear. There she decides to take professional help from Jehangir Khan, a psychologist. The crux of the story is how Khan helps her to piece the clues of her past together and makes her ready to face the life again.

The movie has a beautiful and important message- that our mind, just like our body is prone to diseases, both minor and major ones. Not attending to the minor issues can possibly lead to serious, chronic situations in future. Taking up professional help in such cases need not be a matter of embarrassment. This movie is about how childhood trauma can make a person unable to face the present realities and can make serious troubles in your and your loved one's lives. And how with proper help and support, it is possible to come out and make corrections before its too late. Let me quote from the movie

"Let's once try to bring down our parents from the high pedestals we've placed them and try to understand them as common people, like us, who are prone to making mistakes in life."

I would say we do it to everyone who is in a relationship with us and then our life can be better and more easy to live.

Alia Bhatt effortlessly transform herself into Kaira. I have theory that Shahrukh Khan is miles better as an actor when he does a non-romantic role and after Swades, Chak De and Don movies, I'm happy to see my theory stands the test of time. I don't know how scientific his therapy is, but it sure seems convincing on screen.

So, Dear Zindagi is a must watch, inspirational movie. Its uncluttered, easy to sit through and not manipulative. Though the perils of Kaira may seem immature and trivial to many of you, believe me, she has escaped from the mouth of a volcano that had the potential to take away her future.

Shivaay: Ajay Devgn's Gadar..!

Shivaay, the action movie directed by Ajay Devgn seems to be a spiritual sequel of Gadar. Does anybody remember Gadar, the most Sunny-Deolish movie of Sunny Deol? Gadar is a period movie set in the years after partition, while Shivaay is set in the present era. But if we look closely, it is visible that there are certain similarities in the narrative of both the movies.

Gadar is the story about the love between a Sikh man and a Muslim lady and the hardships the guy and his kid has to suffer in retrieving her from Pakistan. Shivaay has a Bulgarian tourist falling in love with an Indian trek guide and the hardships the guy has to suffer to retrieve their kid from the clutches of a kidnapping ring.





In Gadar, the first hour is about how the lovers meet and the hardships they have to endure together. In Shivaay also similar situation occurs. By the end of this segment, the heroines of both movies become mothers. In Gadar she goes to Pakistan to see her parents, leaving the kid with Sunny and her father doesn't allow her to return. In Shivaay the heroine go back to Bulgaria leaving her child back in India with Ajay never to return.

In both the movies our hero, with the kid go to the other country in search of the mother. They fall in some bad situations causing massive manhunt against them by law enforcement. Another similarity is that after the initial one hour setup of premise and characters, both movies totally depend on relentless action sequences to carry the film forward.

In case of Shivaay, Ajay has done a great job with action sequences. Breath-taking is the only word to describe them. And it's almost nonstop too. My issue was with the first one hour which was wasted. The love story lacks any punch and is unconvincing. It doesn't establish a rapport of central characters with the viewers thereby missing a golden opportunity to make us care for them later when action picks up. Also lacking was the quality of dialogues. Dialogues in Shivaay are pathetic.



 Read my post on Force 2 

Force 2 Awakened, Rolled Over and Slept Again...

Watching Force 2 turned out to be a total waste of time for me. It has some fabulous action sequences, but what point is there in watching a movie that is totally lacking in plot development and characterisation? Atleast adding some humour or melodrama would have done the trick.

The first part Force was remade from Tamil movie Kaakha Kaakha which was a realistic portrayal of the life of encounter specialists. The charm of the Tamil movie was the stark contrast between the romantic and professional sides of the personality of the protagonist played by Surya. Hindi version was not that good, but it hugely benefitted from the ready made script. The makers seriously botched up the sequel when they thought they could compensate the lack of good script with tons of action and car chases. 

One good thing about John Abraham that I like is his sincerity. He tried his best and failed honorably like he did in many other movies. He has his limitations as an actor, but he had transcended them in few of his movies like No Smoking, Madras Cafe and Taxi No. 9211. It's a pity that's not the case in Force 2. I hated those scenes where he walks menacingly towards villains and in closeup suddenly displays a cute puppy look.

The villain is given impressive screen timing and he shines through most of it. But his role was poorly written. The revelation of his motives in the climax spoiled the whole film. Sonakshi Sinha doesn't have much to do other than run around behind John Abraham in chase sequences. Her character arc is pathetic, unconvincing and doesn't make any difference in the movie.




But one curious thing that I noticed is that Force 2 bears an uncanny similarity to a Tamil movie that I watched recently- Irumugan. Both movies have villains trying to destabilise India from a foreign country. Both movies have reluctant protagonists taking up the responsibility of stopping the menace. In both movies the heroes are tormented due to the death of their wives. In both movies it is RAW who conducts the operation. In both movies our hero is assigned with a female partner, who is officially the leader. In both movies the hero easily bypass the partner. In both movies this causes ego issues in between them. In both movies, villain get a better deal role-wise. In both movies there are tremendous action and chases, but lack of a proper plot spoiled the whole thing. Both movies waste a lot of time in characters running behind one another without any interesting pay-off.

It's no fun ending up watching two similar disappointing movies back to back.

Chennai Express: A Ride To Nowhere

I too watched Chennai Express. Its not good when a movie becomes a record breaker in such a short time period and you are the only one left to watch it. So I did it. The last blog post I made about a Hindi movie was the post titled The Crime of Bol Bachchan. It was also a Rohit Shetty movie, like Chennai Express. Its natural that people will think I watch only his movies after reading my posts. That's not the case.

The fact is that when Mr Shetty makes a movie, how much big trash dump it happens it to be, he makes sure absolutely no one escapes falling in it. For me Bol Bachchan happened because it was tagged as a Golmaal remake. I am not implying his movies are trash. What I meant is that he makes and markets them in such a way that finally many ends up watching them and even getting entertained by them. When his first movie Zameen released, I liked it. Fights were cool, some of Ajay's scenes were excellent though meant strictly for front benchers and at that time any movie were Bipasha appears fully clad in a saree was definitely way ahead of times. Even Singham and Sunday were entertaining. Golmaal was watchable, but subsequent parts were too loud and confusing.

Speaking about Chennai Express, it does not have a tight plot, cars fly in action scenes, have characters that are loud and are stereotyped caricatures, have situations that serves only for baffling viewers and not to move the story forward and no sensibility is shown for the feelings of old, disabled or people from South- very much Rohith Shetty. Shahrukh walks through the entire movie making faces- very much Shahrukh. He makes faces at Deepika, Sathyaraj, the main villain, all other minor characters and even at the camera, wondering all the while why he is not getting the girl and why so many people are behind him, all eager to bash him up. Deepika is the surprise package- her character is Tamil, but her Tamil no where near passable, her accented Hindi is much worse. Songs are ok, action is good, sets are fine, picturisation fabulous. I laughed out loud exactly 10 times making the movie significantly better than Bol Bachchan. But ultimately I enjoyed the movie (like how such movies are enjoyed usually) though it was mostly pointless and kind of dragging at middle.