Monday 23 February 2015

SULEMANI KEEDA MOVIE REVIEW

(I missed watching this film in the theater and saw it only now)

Bottomline : A small film with a big heart which, despite being repetitive in the middle portions, manages to strike a chord with the viewers on account of its sheer sincerity.

Review: It is unfortunate that a major chunk of Sulemani Keeda's meagre collections came from online viewing rather than from the box-office due to its release in only a limited number of theatres. It is a story about two young writers struggling to make their way into the Bollywood industry and convince a producer to launch their script. They're rejected each time, but that doesn't make them shy away from flaunting their witty poems and one-liners when they're busy hanging out with girls in search to fulfil every boy's need.

Now director Amit Masurkar isn't particularly inclined to display how determined our protagonists are to make it big. Instead, he adopts a lighter and a more relatable tone to tell their story. While the two leads are terrific, it is Aditi Vasudev (the girl who played Rishi Kapoor's daughter in Do Dooni Chaar), as the independent photographer, who walks away with the film's best role, delivering a calculated performance whose greatness lies in its ordinariness. The real hero of the film, however, is the smart dialogue which keep the film afloat even during the dull middle portions of the film.

I'm going with 3/5. If you haven't watched it yet, make some time, 90 minutes to be precise, for it. It is refreshing, devoid of pretenses and very likeable. After all, good things do come in small packages.  

BADLAPUR MOVIE REVIEW

Bottomline : After the disappointing Agent Vinod, Sriram Raghavan makes a good comeback with a violent, and occasionally disturbing film, that is worth a watch for the terrific performances.

Review: "Kehte hain dushman ko maaf kar dena chahiye, lekin use tadpa tadpa ke maarne ke baad". This dialogue pretty much sums up the motif of Badlapur, a kind of slow torture which Raghu (played by Varun Dhawan) adopts to avenge his family's death. Without wasting time, Sriram sets the stage for a thriller by straightaway plunging  into the main story with a nicely shot opening sequence, leading to events which devastate Raghu's life forever. Clearly, this is no whodunit case and Sriram, instead, seems interested to focus on the emotional trauma and difficulties a man has to grapple with after suffering such a huge loss.

Badlapur is undoubtedly Sriram's darkest and boldest film, be it in terms of characterisation or story. His intuitively written characters have different shades to them, each holding pretentious motives. As a result, the biggest strength of the film lies in its unpredictability. You'll find yourself guessing what could happen next till the end. For me, the thing that stood apart was the little detailing of every scene. Like the scattered toys in the house which Raghu notices after his child's death or the scenes of Nawaz's foiled attempts to escape from prison, just to name a few. Now having extolled the film for its strengths, I must admit that it isn't an easy watch. A few obnoxious scenes do stick out as a sore thumb, and even as the screenplay drags on a few occasions one may not completely agree with Raghu's idea of revenge.

What makes badlapur consistently watchable, though, is its principal cast. In a complete transformation from his chocolate boy image to a man brooding with anger to bring the perpetrators to book, Varun Dhawan delivers his most mature and balanced performance as yet. Portraying a more complex role, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in fine form too. He adds these little touches to his character which make it so endearing to watch.

I'm going with 3/5 for Badlapur. It's a brave, assuredly directed film but one that somewhere lacks the required intensity to qualify as an edge-of-a-seat thriller. As of now, Ek Hasina Thi & Johnny gaddar still remain the director's best works.  

Saturday 14 February 2015

ROY MOVIE REVIEW



Bottomline : Arjun Rampal, in the film, apparently suffers from a writer's block. Quite similar to the plight of the writers of Roy I would say. A Tale of Torture.

Review: I learn from sources that the friendship between debutant director Vikramjit Singh and Ranbir Kapoor dates back to their college days. If that is true, Roy is a perfect example of the extent to which a friend can degrade himself for another, even if it is as dull a script as Roy. In fact, Ranbir has been assigned such a thankless role that you let out a long sigh of despair everytime he appears on screen.  I can bet! No one had their heart in this film. They wear the same tired, worn out look throughout the film as if going through an ordeal. Here the actors don't deliver dialogues. They just mumble.

The icing on the cake is the pace of the film. Long moments of silence, insignificant scenes cropping up here and there, and choppy editing only add to the misery of a film already overburdened by callous, insensitive direction which alienate the audiences further. In fact, the movie is so boring that even cars appear to be moving slowly on the streets. The dialogues are laughable to say the least and can only be enjoyed with a group of friends or in an inebriated state. The characters in the story keep seeking answers to questions. But for me the most troubling questions are; Did any of the actors read the script before signing up? If they did, then what made them agree to be a part of this dull, unimaginative and sleep-inducing film?

I'm going with 0/5 and two big thumbs down to Vikramjit Singh's debut film Roy. Even being a die-hard fan of Ranbir doesn't qualify you for watching this film. Pick up any of the recent bad films, Roy rises above all and emerges as the worst film made in living memory.