Author: aninditaroy444

GOTRO: This movie preaches communal harmony and how humanism overrides gotro or the clan.The movie is very entertaining with drama and comic interludes and a few great songs. Anusua Majumdar(Mukti Devi) plays the matriarch perfectly. She is a Vaishnavite and does Puja every day. Ambarish is a funny priest -he steals the show in every scene. Manali Dey(Jhuma) is the domestic help and she introduces herself ala Sholay’s Basanti. She is very loud and overacts for most of the part. Nigel Akkara(Tareq Ali) is an ex-convict hired as a caretaker for Anusua. Nigel gives a restrained performance-probably he could be a little more expressive.Soon love blooms between Jhuma and Tareq.Tareq helps out Mukti Devi in every possible way who soon acknowledges him as her son never minding the fact that he is a Muslim.Kharaj Mukherjee is a comical villain all set to grab Mukti Devi’s house Gobinda Dham. Santu Mukherjee plays a friend of Mukti Devi. Biswanath shows up in a song sequence. Saheb Chatterjee plays Anirban, the NRI son who cannot stay with his mother and Badshah Maitra plays Ritam the police officer under whom Tareq was jailed. The director could have asked Manali to learn to drive a scooty instead of showing pics on a static bike against moving road images. The ending is predictable but the treatment, the dialogues and the presentation make the movie an enjoyable watch. The songs are quite nice especially “Baishnabo shei jon” and “Hare Krishna Naam Dilo”. There is some product placement -Fortune Kachhi Gani and Senco.The movie tries to make a social comment about how Kolkata is becoming unsafe for the elderly retired population whose children are forced to work outside Kolkata due to the grim economy. Another bravura offering from the stable of Shiboprasad and Nandita.

PARINEETA: This movie is a romance with some bit of mystery. The storyline is original and not a remake. Set in North Calcutta, the plot involves a 16 year old Madhyamik student Mehul (Subhasree) who is in love with her private tutor (Babaida) (played by Ritwick). Babaida is compelled to commit suicide after which Mehul avenges his death. Although the mystery element is not that present, the movie is a delight mainly because of Subhasree’s skillful portrayal of Mehul. As an effervescent 16 year old her mannerism’s are spot-on but as an adult she looks too mature. Her scenes with Laboni Sarkar (Babaida’s mother) are over the top.The two friends who are actually 16 year olds also play their parts well. They are shown to be married with kids at the age of 20 (?????). Also the interview results are displayed in a notice board in the office which seems odd.Office politics looks juvenile.Top Tech TMT Bar gets a product placement slot.Ritwick is dependable as always. Adrit Roy plays a cameo as Ananda-the next big thing after Babaida. Music especially the song “Tomake” is exquisite. Gourab Chakraborty is adquate as the lecherous boss. The movie belongs to Subhasree-in some scenes she outperforms even Ritwik. Her no-makeup look coupled with her lissome demeanor is a delight to watch. Definitely, worth viewing.

SAAHO: This is Prabhas’ major outing after Baahubali and it’s a major letdown. Prabhas looks old opposite Shraddha Kapoor and his dialogue delivery is all screwed up. The movie has no story whatsoever. Only some action sequences have been clubbed together. Music is very jarring. The movie has a host of prominent actors like Jackie Shroff, Tinnu Anand, Chunky Panday, Mahesh Manjrekar, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mandira Bedi etc.Shraddha Kapoor is wasted. Jacqeline Fernandes shows up in one of the songs. At 174 minutes, idiocy reigns supreme.This movie is set to be a colossal flop. If mindless violence and gore are your favorites, then you can give it a dekho.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: This movie is a nostalgic take on Hollywood of yesteryears. Despite the presence of stalwarts like Al Pacino , Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt this movie fails to make a mark on the audience. Leo Di Caprio is a has-been, an anti-hero who last starred in the TV drama Bounty Law and he fails to make it in the movies. His stuntman/body double Brad Pitt is too out of work and drives him around LA. There are never ending sequences of Brad Pitt behind the wheels and this comes as repetitive. This movie is set in 1969 before man landed on the moon and radio features prominently in many scenes. Rick Dalton (read:Leo Di Caprio) is advised by his manager to go to Rome and act in spaghetti westerns -a kind of demotion for a Hollywood actor. There is one scene where Rick constantly fails to mouth his dialogues and how difficult it must have been for a perfectionist like Leo to come up with incorrect lines. The eminent director Roman Polanksi comes to stay next door to Rick Dalton who is very excited to be a stone’s throw away from the famous director. Rick then goes to Rome to earn money and comes back to the US with an Italian wife. Somewhere in between Brad Pitt gets acquainted with the Manson girls who live in a trailer owned by an ailing old man, George. A fight breaks off prompting retaliation from the Manson girls later at Rick Dalton’s residence.Rick and Brad Pitt kill all the members of the Manson family in Aug 1969 in the climax. Brad goes off to the hospital in an ambulance while Rick goes for high tea with the Polankis. THE END. The movie, barring the climax, is boring. The girl playing the starlet Susan Tate is very expressive and endearing. The hippie culture is depicted in a derogatory fashion and hippies are looked down upon. All the actors smoke, booze and do psychotropic drugs like LSD. Teenagers hitchhike and have sex with unknown men. Tarantino has tried to depict a utopian kingdom of free sex, liquor and cigarettes. There are too many closeups of bare feet suggesting the director’s foot fetish. This movie celebrates the friendship between a fading hero and his stuntman and the sheer joy of watching Leo and Brad in the same frame is immense. Apart from that, the movie does not have much to offer. At 2 hrs 45 mins the movie tests our patience. Watch this movie if you are a tinseltown junkie. Don’t miss the ciggie ad bit by Leo at the end.

BATLA HOUSE: This movie deals with the infamous police encounter that took place at L-18 Batla House at the Okhla Industrial area of New Delhi that resulted in the death of a policeman and two IM (Indian Mujahideen) terrorists in 2008. The encounter was headed by ACP Sanjay Kumar Yadav (played by John Abraham) who had to face media outrage and police enquiry for what was believed to be a fake encounter. The movie, despite its umpteen chases and shootouts, fails to engage the audience. The movie starts on a promising premise but ends up like a docudrama. Despite its elaborate disclaimer, the movie is hinged towards the Delhi Police point of view and has a predictable climax. There are three songs that make the pace of the movie sluggish. John Abraham gives a restrained performance without too much of a dose of nationalism. Mrunal Thakur and Ravi Kishan are wasted in small roles. Nora Fatehi makes an impact in a miniscule role. The supporting cast is nondescript and fades into the background. The movie lacks proper execution and direction.I give it two stars.

MISSION MANGAL: This is a patriotic and educative movie celebrating India’s successful mission to Mars (MOM-Mars Orbiter Mission) in 2013.
Jingoism is kept at a low in this movie. It is heartening to see that the movie depicts ISRO scientists as normal people with everyday problems in their personal lives. The space science facts are presented in a simple way so that the laymen can also understand but at times logic goes for a toss. The CGI and graphics are not as eyecatching as that in Hollywood but they are not a disaster either. The last few minutes before the launch could have been made more exciting. Music is average -there are three songs that add to the proceedings. The original MARS mission by ISRO mostly had women as shown in the movie-so this movie is a celebration of “girl power”. Women are shown as juxtaposing home science with computer science and space science successfully to come up with cost-effective and efficient solutions. The MOM was executed with just 454 crores and India was the first Asian nation to land on the Mars and the first nation in the world to land on the Mars at the first attempt. This movie is good for kids and it will ignite young minds towards space exploration. Vidya Balan outshines all the key actors in this movie. Akshay Kumar is at his wittiest best -he does resort to some overacting especially in the imaginary telephone call to APJ Abdul Kalam, dashing down the table etc. Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharman Joshi- all are good in their supporting roles. Dilip Tahil shows up as the sole villian and does a good job. It is delight to watch Sanjay Kapoor groove to his own songs at a pub. That song brought a quick flashback of the naughty ’90s and made us realize how old we have become. At the end the original photo clips from the real ISRO are shown. The movie panders to the PM Narendra’s Modi’s ego by showing his celebratory speech only ignoring the fact that Mangalayan was launched in 2012 in Dr. Manmohan Singh’s regime. More movies like this need to be made, to instill nationalism and respect for our motherland and to feel proud of our nation’s achievements. A big thank you to my fellow moviebuffs Sanchita, Mohua, Sarmistha and Anumita who braved the rains to join me today. “SAB MANGAL HAIN”

SHANTILAL O PROJAPATI ROHOSHYA:Coming from the Pratim D.Gupta stable, this movie is a big disappointment. Promoted as a detective film, the movie lacks the bone-chilling adventure and the nail-biting suspense that accompanies mystery stories. In the movie everything is simple and unrealistic-the meeting of Shantilal with Rocket Ranjan, Shantilal’s travel to Chennai and Singapore and hooking up with insiders without much of a hindrance, meeting with Nandita at her place -all of these happen smoothly without much of chase or intrigue. The director had an excellent story concept but he does nothing to excite the audience and keep it on the edge. Paoli Dam and Ritwick Chakraborty enact their characters well. Ambarish, Shankar Chakraborty and Goutam Ghose support equally well. Aparna Sen does a guest appearance along with her husband. Mirch Somak also features as a journalist. But the inept handling of the plot and a flat script fail to impress the audience. Surely can give it a miss.

JABARIYA JODI: The title means “a couple married by force”. The movie surely needs a “Jabariya” audience. Set in Patna, tacky sets, garish costumes, inane script and a confusing plot will set the viewers off. Chocolate boy Siddharth Malhotra oozes charm and killer good looks but his acting and dialogue delivery leave much to be desired. Great body, great face but look Ma, no brains! or what would possibly explain his disastrous choice of movies, delivering one dud after another. Parineeti Chopra lacks on-screen chemistry with Sid Malhotra. She is always decked up in designr clothes mostly crop tops and for some doggon reason dons a green eyeliner always. The lead pair is too urban to be playing rustic Biharis. The backdrop of the movie is groom kidnapping in Bihar by the bride’s family who cannot pay dowry and pay a smaller fee to the local goons. The story takes a convoluted turn as the main protagonists take turn in kidnapping one another.Siddhartha Malhotra is shown smoking pot, ciggarettes, guzzling beer but still he does not come alive on screen as the menacing goon. There are a few weird product placements like Gas-o-fast, Manyavar etc that are “jabariya”. Music is average and the songs do not gel into the narrative. Aparshakti Khurana gives a nondescript performance and pales in to the background. This is dreamboat Siddharth Malhotra’s big screen movie outing after one and a half years-if you crave to watch him groove, talk with his chacteristic arched eyebrows, romance, fight, smile, cry then go for this movie. Otherwise give it a miss.

ARTICLE 15: This movie is a gripping, realistic crime drama set at Lalgaon in UP. Article 15 is the constitutional law that prohibits discrimination against sex,race, caste, creed or religion. One may find this movie preachy in parts and honestly, the suspense revolving a crime drama is largely missing. Ayushmann Khurrana fits the role of the newly minted IPS officer perfectly. Music and background score are top-notch. The song played along with the opening titles is very catchy. There are a few raw sequences like the two girls’ corpses hanging from the tree, a man from the socially backward class dunking in sewage repeatedly in order to clean the drains etc. It was not clear why the third girl Pooja was let go alive. Barring the flaws, this is a hard-hitting drama delivered with responsibility. If you can digest large doses of realism, then this is the movie for you.

SUPER 30: This movie is based on the true story of Anand Kumar, a Patna based mathematics whiz who coached 30 poor, under privileged kids for the IIT exam totally free of cost successfully. If you are expecting happy feet, handsome and stylish Hrithik you would be disappointed. Here Hrithik is brown-faced, dishevelled with a thick beard and looks more like a jail convict than a mad genius. His performance is earnest and honest, his fake Bihari accent almost perfect. The narrative is engaging and the screenplay is taut in the first half but in the second half melodrama sets in thereby dragging it down. The kids are mostly dark-skinned thereby suggesting that poor people are necessarily dark and ugly. The characters of the kids are not well-etched and remain in your memory as a mass of famished kids.Music is average and the Sholay song drags on forever. It is hard to believe that a few high school kids can overpower some hardcore gun-toting criminals. It is entertaining to see the way Anand uses mathemetics to solve everyday problems. Mrunal Thakur has a miniscule role as Hrithik’s love interest. The movie is an inspiring tale of how hard work, talent and perseverence can bring about success and glory and how a few people contribute to the society’s reform and upliftment of backward classes selflesssly without looking for material gains. This movie is a triumph of humanity. Watch this movie to see the brilliant performance of Hrithik, if nothing else.